Magi Adventures!
by Crona-Cron
Summary: Tettia, a half-Fanalis, is a best friend of Aladdin and accompanies him on his adventures. Life was simple, with just the two of them saving people's lives. What happens when they meet a certain blond? Will they become the trio of best friends? Will romances be sparked? Eh, only time can tell these types of things. Rated M for language and possible risqué situations.
1. His Name Is…!

**Chapter One: His Name Is…!**

* * *

Aladdin and Tettia were riding in a cart. Both the young magi and the Fanalis were looking back at the city they were leaving. "Wow…! The city is so tiny from here, Ugo! Isn't it amazing, Tet?" the young bluenette said to his flute and Fanalis friend.

Tettia laughed, "It sure is, Laddin~!"

There was a woman who was sitting beside the two, who smiled at them. "Are the two of you heading to the neighboring city too?" she asked them.

Aladdin smiled cutely and childishly. "We sure are!"

"How sweet," the lady said with a grin.

A pig threw an apple core onto the floor of the cart. "Hey! Quit moving around so much, brat, you're causing the dust to scatter," said a fat pig. Tettia clenched her fisted, resisted the urge to punch the fat man. "Ugh! This place is cramped, and the kids noisy! Aren't you going to do something about this, driver?" complained the pig.

The driver, who was Tettia's age, looked over his shoulder, his eyes closed in an apologetic manner and rubbed the back of his head. "My deepest apologies, sir!"

Tettia looked at the driver and smiled to herself. His blond hair was cute and his thick ahoge added to his charm. "You don't have to apologize to a fat pig like that, sir driver…" she muttered to herself.

"Sure, my rates are cheap, but I always get the job done. I'll get you and your precious grape wine to the destination safe and sound! Okay?" the driver said.

He was almost irresistible to Tettia, he was just so unknowingly charming. "I believe in your words, sir driver," she said with a smile directed towards the driver.

"Damn straight!" was the only thing the fat man exclaimed. "That wine is worth more than what you'd earn in your miserable little life."

 _Wow, what a fat fucking pig. I wish I beat the shit out of him,_ Tettia thought to herself as she combed a hand through her semi-wavy, unkempt red hair. She sighed heavily and Aladdin noticed her inner rage.

Aladdin reached for the fat man's apples. "Looks like you need some food in your belly, Tet." he said.

"No, Laddin—" Tettia started but was cut off.

The fat man noticed Aladdin reaching for his apples and screamed, "TAKE YOUR PAWS OFF OF MY APPLES!"

Tettia face-palmed and sighed, "Laddin… I told you not to…"

Mister driver once again looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed at Aladdin. "Hey! Those are for the BOSS only!"

The blue-eyed boy cast his gaze on the driver. "C'mon! Let me and Tet have one!" exclaimed Aladdin.

FatManPiggy McPigginton glared at Aladdin. "Do you brats have any money?"

Tettia glared at the fat pig and flatly spoke, "The hell we do." Then she crossed her arms and huffed angrily.

The driver was still looking back and this time he glared at both Aladdin and Tettia. "Then no touching. He's got money, therefore he's also got the apples. Got it?" he said in a low tone. Tettia looked at the driver. He had gorgeous honey brown colored eyes. She narrowed her red eyes at him, but not in a dangerous way. The driver then closed his eyes and ringed his hands, then gushed, "Now when you've got a cure for your poverty, we can start talking apples~!"

Tettia fell over as Aladdin said what was on her mind. "N-not fair…" Aladdin said.

The fat man laughed and all Tettia wanted to do was kick him out of the cart and watch him roll around. "You sure get it, don't'cha driver?" he asked almost rhetorically.

Aladdin was downcast and sat in sadness. Tettia sat beside him and had her hand on his shoulder, trying to cheer him up. His blue eyes looked at the fat man and noticed his bouncy man-boobs. He knew if he tried to grope Tettia's breasts at this moment in time, she would not hesitate to punch him in the back of the head, so he did the next best thing.

Meanwhile, the driver was thinking to himself. _Heh, now this is the type of boss I like! Danger's at a minimum, payout at the maximum… as long as nothing dangerous happens, I'm going to get paid for sure!_

Tettia was looking at the driver until they both heard noises and looked over to see Aladdin face-deep in the fat man's man-breasts. Tettia's face fell, falling over from the sheer shock; the driver's face looked beyond shocked and he dropped a basket-full of apples; and, the fat man was furious, a vein was throbbing in his forehead. "W-WHAT?!" exclaimed the Fanalis.

Aladdin said, muffled through the man's fatty chest, "Mister? This is _really_ weird… you're a guy, but you have boobs that rival Tet's! What's up with that?"

Tettia's face erupted in pink. "A-ALADDIN! Don't compare my breasts to those lumps of disgusting fat on that man's chest!" exclaimed the Fanalis, covering her chest with her arms.

The driver's face became even more shocked and he yelled, "Hey! You two!" The fat man was fuming and the driver then went over to the Aladdin and Tettia then forced them to bow their heads in apology. "I'm so sorry!"

That was when the pig started to kick the driver, which made Tettia want to beat the shit out of the fatty more than she already did. "You damn brat!" yelled the fat man, kicking the driver.

The blond driver took the beating, bowing his head. "They didn't mean anything by it sir! My deepest apologies!"

The young Fanalis woman sighed and muttered to herself, "I meant something by it… my breasts are _way_ better than those disgusting lumps of fat…"

Once the cart had stopped, the young blond driver was giving it to the two friends. "You damn idiots!" the blond driver said, holding Aladdin by his jacket, an angry look on his face. He was seething. "Just who do you two think that guy there is…?" he asked in a dangerously low voice. "He's the famous and wealthy grape winer Budel."

"Okay, for one, put my friend down, blondie." Tettia said, glaring at the driver. "And two, why do I care? He's a fat pig who obviously gets off abusing those around him. A good-for-nothing is what he is."

Budel sat a good forty feet away and was starting to get antsy. "Hey, driver, just how long is you _break_ gonna go?!"

The blond boy looked at Budel and his attitude changed for a brief moment as he said, "Just a sec" while rubbing the back of his head. Then he turned his attention back towards the two friends. "You two pull a stunt like that again, and I promise to kill you both."

Tettia snickered and they all head back to the cart. "Geez," she muttered, "He may be cute but damn is he dumb if me and Laddin can be killed so easily."

"Geez, I almost saw my perfect life plan crumble because of those two brats…" said the blond boy as he saddled up the driver position once again.

Tettia coughed. "Excuse me… _brats_? For your information, I am no brat. And neither is Aladdin!"

Aladdin came following after Tettia. "Life plan?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, I did forget to ask about that. I was kinda pissed about you calling me a brat, sir driver."

The driver looked at the two as they climbed in behind him. "I'm planning on being a treasure hunter that goes into dungeons and unearths artefacts," said the blond cart driver.

Aladdin looked clueless as he asked, "What's a dungeon…?"

Tettia smiled and snickered from behind her wrist. "You mean kinda like that lady-killer adventurer, Sinbad, eh?" she asked.

The driver was impressed at Tettia's knowledge of Sinbad. "Yeah. Kinda. Also, seriously? You don't know what a _dungeon_ is? You really are just a kid. You don't even understand the worth of money…" he asked, looked disinterested and disappointed in Aladdin's naivety.

"I can explain the dungeons, sir driver. Laddin, fourteen years ago, huge buildings erupted from the ground all over the world without warning. People went in and were shocked to find treasures from ancient dynasties within them. _Eventually_ , people coined the term _dungeon_ for these spots," Tettia explained.

Again, the blond driver was impressed. _Maybe she isn't a brat after all, she just is friends with one_ , thought the driver. "The treasures within these things are incredible," said the driver.

"Diamond crowns, sapphire thrones, golden palaces…" both Tettia and the driver were smiling. "Even now there are plenty of artefacts we don't know of specifically the mysterious magical ones!" they said in unison.

The driver continued, "Cloth that flies! Urns that flow with wine! There are guys all around the world looking for artefacts like these! It's all the rage now! And who do you think is the one who's gonna find all of those treasures first? That's right, ME! Alibaba! I'm gonna be the richest man on the planet!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Tettia was impressed with Alibaba's ambitions. "Oh my," she said with a grin.

"Oooooh… so that's how it is. Also, I think Tet may have just started liking you… because of those ambitions," said Aladdin, who had his arms wrapped around his knees.

Tettia laughed. "Very funny, Lad, you have no proof of what you just claimed," she said.

Alibaba glared at Aladdin. "What do you mean _that's how it is_? Listen, _kid_ , when you have money you can do what you want. A house. Livestock, oh and servants? With money, you can have it all. Time to eat, time to sleep, time to play, time for _anything_ …" he said with a smile directed towards Tettia. She immediantly understood what he meant, her face became slightly flushed. Alibaba laughed and continued, "No worried about work, being able to talk about whatever… with money, you'd have love and hope beyond your wildest dreams. Heck! After you get all that, you can even command people to walk where you want them to."

The female Fanalis knew what he meant by that as well. "Umm… you mean having slaves? You realize that is deplorable, right, Mr. Alibaba?"

Alibaba looked at Tettia and stammered. "U-uh… yeah, I do mean slaves. That isn't deplorable… it's life."

"Oooh," Aladdin said, less than interested.

The bluenette's disinterested statement caused Alibaba to turn his attention back to the youngster. "You're not listening to me at all, brat… fine, if you hear me out… I'll feed both of you."

That sure did get Aladdin's attention. "Whoa? Did you say food?!" exclaimed the child.

Our seventeen year old Fanalis face-palmed. "Well, now you know what Lad's weakness," she muttered.

"There we go…" quietly said Alibaba. Then he went right back into speaking, "Yeah, totally. And then we'll have babes too!" the young blond boy said with a grin.

"Pretty girls!" Aladdin gushed.

Tettia groaned at Aladdin's gushing of pretty girls. "Lad! What are you…? Oh geez…" she shook her head and smiled. "You have a pretty girl right here, you idiot." Then she laughed.

"When you have money, you become a ladies man. All kinds of girls come looking for you. Gentle, supple, strong, big, small… big boob… whatever you want, you get it. Yep, all the girls you could ask for!" Alibaba said with a huge grin.

Tettia scoffed. "What's the point? You don't need money for _all_ women, you know," she muttered. She rolled her red eyes.

"And they'll be like _'We love Alibaba!'_." Alibaba exclaimed, getting hyped.

Tettia smiled as an idea brewed in her head. _We love Alibaba, eh?_ she thought to herself. "Oh, Alibaba~" she said with a sneaky smirk. "I love you, Alibaba~" she said in a sweet tone.

The Fanalis's sudden actions caused Alibaba's face to heat up. "H-hey, look here kid! Don't play around like that!" he exclaimed.

Tettia snickered as she sat back. "Oh, but Mister Alibaba, I can't deny my feelings for you," she joked, sticking her tongue out.

"Not funny!" exclaimed Alibaba, who's face was red.

She laughed, "It's sure funny to me, Ali."

"Supple girls! Hehe… I like that…" gushed Aladdin, who was in his own little world.

His words caused Tettia to groan and roll her eyes. Was she not supple enough for those two? She laughed at her own stupid thought.

Alibaba nodded happily, "Right? Right?! And they'll totally be all over us!"

Aladdin was reduced to a ball of gushing, blushing mush. "Ahaha, really? I think I'm blushing!"

"You are blushing," the Fanalis companion said plainly.

Her comment went ignored as Alibaba continued, " _We love you Alibaba! Kiss-kiss-kiss!_ "

Once again, an evil idea brewed and Tettia crawled over to Alibaba. "Aren't I good enough to get all of your attention, Alibaba, sir. I love you so much more than anyone ever could~" she cooed at the young blond.

Alibaba's blush returned with a vengeance. "Hey, hey! B-back away from me!"

"Oh, but isn't this what you want? I'm no child, though I travel with one. Why would you waste all your effort on finding money when with your charm, you can get any girl you wanted?" Tettia said, genuine feeling put into her words.

The blush spread across his cheeks and her words almost made him swerve the cart. "Stop that!" he exclaimed.

She snickered. "Maybe you're just too innocent for my likings. Laddin is better than you." she taunted.

"Hey, don't sell me short, Miss… umm… I didn't catch your name," Alibaba said.

Tettia moved away from him and sat beside him. "My name is Tettia, but you can call me Tet. That's what _he_ ," she pointed to the bluenette ball of blushing mush, "calls me. I wouldn't mind if you called me that either, Ali." she finished with a smile.

" _Ali_?" he questioned.

Tettia smiled. "Yeah, you call me _Tet._ I will call you _Ali,_ " she spoke with great happiness.

"O-okay…" Alibaba said.

"Teasing you is fun, Ali," said a laughing Tettia.

Alibaba rolled his eyes, "You're so funny."

"I know I am," Tettia said with a sassy tone.


	2. Desert Hyacinth and Grape Wine

**Chapter Two: Desert Hyacinth and Grape Wine**

* * *

Aladdin then deadpanned and asked a simple question. "Kissing? Um… how does that feel exactly? How do you do it?" he asked innocently.

His utter innocence caused both Alibaba and Tettia to be shocked. Alibaba looked back at Aladdin with a _how the fuck do I explain this_ expression on his face. "… um… well that's… you go in…" the blond said, trying to explain how to kiss to a ten year old boy.

The bluenette boy just looked at Alibaba with a cute, innocent expression and asked, "You go in where?"

Tettia desperately wanted to help Alibaba out. "Well…" she began, "Umm…"

The woman and child were laughing at the three. "Hee hee, you three are a riot! My daughter loves to hear about dungeons and the treasures found in them," the woman said.

Her adorable little daughter spoke in a cheerful voice, "Mister, are all those things really in dungeons?"

"He's busy working, little one… ask later," the mother said to her child.

Alibaba looked at the mother and her daughter and smiled happily. Tettia looked at the child. "But, I'm not working. And let me tell you that: yes, all those things are, in fact, really in dungeons," said the Fanalis in a chipper tone.

The young girl was fascinated. "Wow! That's amazing, pretty lady!" exclaimed the child.

"Yeah, it is pretty amazing, little one," said Tettia.

That was when the fat Budel decided to voice his unwanted opinion. "Oh you poor people and your poor little dreams," he began, " _Treasure hunter_? Don't make me laugh. Is there really that much pleasure in fishing up sand and rats in the deserts for you? I know you're smarter than that, right driver?" Budel finished, stuffing his face with he precious apples.

"… Yeah," said Alibaba, which contradicted what he had just given a speech about.

That pissed Tettia off. She was never one to bow down to those who were more privileged than herself. Tettia was a Fanalis who stood up to those who thought they were better than any and everybody just because of money. She clenched her fists tightly as she sat beside the blond driver, cursing him.

That was, until the fat man kept voicing his rancid opinion. "Don't waste time with dreams that are out of your reach. Mice should just live as mice… rather than wasting their lives searching for garbage… right?"

Alibaba looked back at Budel with a smile gracing his lips, but remained silent.

" _Right_?" stated Budel in a drawn out manner, meaning that Alibaba had better agree with him or else.

The blond driver still only smiled at Budel with a smile, not saying a single word. It took a few moments before the driver's smile turned into an open-mouthed grin and he said in a cheery voice. "Yeah! Totally right boss!"

Tettia sighed and, like before, ran a hand through her red hair. _I could tell that this fat pig is seriously irking Ali's nerves_ , she thought to herself as she shook her head in disapproval at Alibaba's words.

"I've got my hands full just being a driver," he continued. "Sad to say that my potential is only good enough to be a mouse, is that right?" Finished Alibaba, rubbing the back of his neck, still smiling stupidly for Budel. Yet his grip on the reigns tightened as he spouted those words the greedy, fat pig wanted to hear.

Both the young bluenette and his red-haired companion noticed his subtle actions. Unbeknownst to everyone in the cart, a monster's tendril had slithered around the wheel. The unseen monster than flipped the cart, which sent everyone flying from within. "Wh-what's going on?!" yelled Tettia and Aladdin.

Everyone in the cart was confused, they did not know what was happening. It was at that moment that the monster decided to show itself. Appearing from the ground below them, with a screech, was a flower-like monster. It's tendrils reaching into the air from its hole in the ground.

Aladdin and Tettia had never seen something like that. "What is that?!" exclaimed Aladdin in horror.

"A desert hyacinth!" exclaimed Alibaba. "It's a meat eating plant indigenous to the desert! You fall into the hole, and you're lunch! Forget the cart and get out of here!" He exclaimed as he noticed people trying to save the stupid carts.

"Hey! Grab the wine!" Budel demanded everyone.

Alibaba scrambled to save the wine. "Of course sir!" Holding one barrel of wine, Alibaba bent down to grab another barrel. _As if I'd let my cash cow get eaten!_ thought the blond boy to himself.

Budel tripped the young girl and she fell into the hole with the monster. "Ah!" she let out a scream as she fell.

Alibaba reached for the girl, meanwhile that greedy fart reached for the barrel of wine that had fallen in with the girl. "MY WINE!" yelled Budel as he caught the barrel of wine, not caring if the girl fell.

Budel's fat ass made it impossible for Alibaba to catch the girl. She fell into the monster's hole. Both Alibaba and the girl's mother wore horrified expressions on their faces. Tettia also looked on in horror. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed.

Wiping sweat off his forehead, Budel stated, "Oh thank god it's safe…" referring to the damn barrel of wine. He looked at Alibaba, who was on his knees, looking down into the pit at the girl. "Hey you! Start moving _now_!" he demanded.

Alibaba sat there and did not hear his demand for a moment, his face a sculpture of horror. "Hey! Someone save her!" screamed the girl's mother.

"This is our chance to get out of here! The desert hyacinth is eating its prey! Let's go!" yelled Budel, his only concern was his precious wine.

"She's going to die…" the mother screamed more.

"It won't be long until it's done with that little morsel! So let's run with my wine now!" yelled Budel.

The mother was distraught and clawed at the ground. "Someone… someone please…!" Budel's men had to hold her down.

Alibaba was torn. What should he do? Should he help the girl? Or run and be a coward like Budel? He did not know what to do.

"Hey! We've got wine to store!" screamed Budel. A sinister smile crossed Budel's lips as he said to Alibaba, "How about this, if you be a good little driver and work extra hard, I'll double your pay… or wait, triple it. How about it?!" Aladdin stared with cold eyes as Alibaba started to work again. The woman was still crying, so Budel made his way over to her. "Ah! Quit crying woman! If that child was worth so much to you… how about you make as many as you'd like with me?" he asked, basically preying on the mother.

That was when both Alibaba and Tettia had had enough. They punched Budel in the face. "Screw waiting for someone else!" yelled Alibaba. Budel went flying into his wine. "Take your dirty wine!" the blond yelled.

"You could never be able to _buy_ a person's _life_ , you fat dumbass!" yelled Tettia. She casted her red eyes on Alibaba. "If I fucking die, you look after Laddin, got me?" she stated sternly.

Alibaba's rage was quelled for a brief moment as he questioned what she meant by that. _Oh no, don't tell me we were thinking the same thing?_ Alibaba thought to himself. Sure enough, when he looked away from 0.05 seconds and looked back, Tettia had jumped into the pit with a barrel of wine.

"Sweetheart, I'm coming to save ya!" exclaimed Tettia as she slid down the wall of the pit.

Aladdin and Alibaba's faces showed a shocked expression. The young magi ran to the edge of the pit. "Tet!" yelled the bluenette.

The blond young man noticed that the monster got her. "Shit! It's got her! Tet! What were you think?!"

"There's no way to do it better, that's why, Ali!" yelled the Fanalis as she got closer to the monster.

Budel was pissed that she had punched him. "You little fool! Die, die! I hope that monster eats you alive!" he wailed.

Aladdin's face fell and he decided he needed to act fast. "Oh no, Tet and that girl are…!" he exclaimed before he blew into his flute. The young boy was expecting his Dijnn, Ugo to appear, but Ugo did not appear. "Huh?" asked Aladdin, looking at his flute. "The flute is full of sand and Ugo won't come out… he's not coming out at all!" The mother looked at Aladdin worriedly.

Suddenly, Budel noticed that the Fanalis held a barrel of his wine in her arms. "Hey wench! What do you think you are doing with my wine?!" he yelled.

Tettia glared back at the man. "I am going to get this monster drunk off your crappy wine!" she yelled as she threw the barrel at the desert hyacinth.

The plant did, indeed, get drunk off of the wine and let the girl out of its _mouth_. Alibaba's brown eyes widened. "The desert blossom where the meat is digested can get drunk too! And while the alcohol runs through its system, it returns underground! It's the perfect chance for them to get the hell out of there!" he exclaimed. "So, hurry up, Tet!"

Tettia grabbed the girl and handed her back to her mother. Alibaba reached his hand out, grabbed Tettia's hand, pulled her out but fell into the pit. Just as Alibaba and Tettia switched positions, the desert hyacinth got over its drunken stupor. Its tendrils started to move again and they shot for Alibaba. "Alibaba!" exclaimed Tettia, who held out her hand, trying to help Alibaba out of the pit. However, one of the desert hyacinth's tendrils snatched Alibaba before Tettia could help him out.

"That wine wasn't enough! Damn!" exclaimed Alibaba. The tendril did something to him and he continued in a drawn out manner, like he was drugged as he was dragged into the blossom, "Ugh… I can't… die… he…re…"

Tettia looked at Aladdin with tearful eyes. The bluenette did not need to meet her teary gaze. He grabbed his turban and snatched it out of his hair. This neatly braided blue hair came undone and was free-flowing as he got on the cloth and said, "Fly, magic turban!" The turban picked up all the remaining barrels of wine as it lifted off of the ground.

Looking towards Alibaba, Tettia called out, "Hold on, Ali!"

Meanwhile, Alibaba had accepted his death and could not hear Tettia's voice. _I… I went and showed off by saving Tettia, but in the end I screwed up when it mattered. Damn… am I really gonna die a mouse like he said…?_ he thought bitterly to himself.

"Don't give up, mister!" called Aladdin. Alibaba looked up and was utterly shocked at what he saw. The bluenette floating above the pit with all the remaining barrels of Budel's wine and his Fanalis companion. Aladdin and Tettia looked down at Alibaba, smiling.

Everyone but Tettia was throughly shocked. "HE'S FLYING?!"

Aladdin continued to look at Alibaba. "Lying's not good mister! You still have to tell me more about money, wine and other things you can't buy!" he exclaimed with a wide smile.

"What am I, huh, chop liver?" scoffed Tettia, crossing her arms in a huff.

Alibaba looked at the two with an unbelieving look on his face.

"AAAH! Stop that! What are you doing with my grape wine?!" wailed Budel as he noticed. "Stop it, or I'll make sure you both regret it! That wine is expensive! It's worth three hundred people, way more than one stupid driver brat!" That fat man was trying to bargain with Aladdin and Tettia. "Think _real_ hard about it! Between that little brat and my wine… which do you think is worth more…?! Stop it, I beg you both to stop! **NOOOOOOOOOO!** " yelled Budel as with a big grin (on Aladdin's part) and a dangerous smile (on Tettia's part), Aladdin let all the barrel of wine fall into the desert hyacinth's pit.

Tettia laughed loudly as she watched Budel become so visibly distraught that he fell over. "HAHAHAHA! Take _that_! You fat, over-privileged pig!" she exclaimed as she and Aladdin pulled Alibaba out of the tendril.

"Thank you for saving my daughter!" The mother thanked Tettia.

Tettia smiled. "No need to thank me, I wanted to," she said.

A man looked at both Alibaba and Tettia. "You both saved our caravan… we'll be glad to pay the compensation for that grape wine!"

Alibaba smiled a happy smile and said, "I've decided that smacking that old bat was worth _way_ more than the money… I'll just work hard to replace it myself."

Tettia's lips were curled into a sweet smile. "I just always wanted to hit that pig," she stated simply.

Aladdin was adorably trying to get Ugo to come out of his flute. "He won't come ouuut…" he spoke, blowing into the flute again, with no result. "Won't come ouuut…" he pouted.

Alibaba looked at the bluenette and was trying to figure out what he was doing. "What had you been up to this whole time?" he finally asked.

Weakly, Aladdin blew into his flute. "Hmm… he won't come out…" he moped.

Tettia laughed. "Don't worry, I'm sure he will soon.

"What?" questioned Alibaba, looking over at the young blue-haired magi.

The flute suddenly made a noise. "Ah! There we go!" exclaimed Aladdin.

Patting the young magi on the back, Tettia spoke, "See, I told ya so."

"Come on out, Ugo!" exclaimed Aladdin as his Dijnn began to appear from the flute. Only Ugo's arms came out though. Everyone looked on in utter confusion. And then they all screamed, not sure what to make of arms coming out of a flute.


	3. Aladdin, Tettia and Alibaba

**Chapter Three: Aladdin, Tettia and Alibaba**

* * *

As those arms came from the young magi's flute, people scattered and yelled, "WAHHH! Is that a snake?!"

Alibaba stood in silence, he knew what it was. _That ain't no snake, but wait, could that be… the legendary Dijnn container…!?_ thought the blond to himself.

As the young blond man thought that to himself, Tettia and Aladdin shared a smile as they looked at one another. Ugo had finally come out. They were both super happy.

 _To have a chance encounter like this is impossible! This is perfect for my plans… but first I gotta get that kid to believe that I'm his buddy!_ Alibaba thought to himself.

The caravan arrived at the oasis capital, Chishan, and everyone was thrilled to finally be there. Tettia, Aladdin and Alibaba walked through the streets. "It's great that you came with us, mister! It's a huge help!" called Aladdin, who has happily munching on a kabab.

Tettia looked at Alibaba and nodded, also eating a kabab. "Yeah!" she exclaimed joyously.

"Of course I'd come~!" gushed Alibaba as he, too, ate a kabab. "I mean, you both saved my life back there, and even helped out against a common enemy." The blond walked in front of the two companions. "That makes us pals! Right, you two?"

The female Fanalis smiled widely at Alibaba. "Hey, you pulled me out of the pit and in return got sucked into it. I couldn't let you die like that. Also, yeah, it makes us pals," she said.

Aladdin smiled at Tettia's words. "Yeah!" he agreed with a cute smile. The three walked into a building and sat down. "Wow~!" exclaimed Aladdin in amazement, "You know, beside's Tet, you're one of the first friends I've ever had."

The golden-haired young man smiled and said, "Is that so? Just have a seat, buddies! I'll get us some tea." Aladdin and Tettia sat down and Alibaba pulled out some apples. "I just bought some apples, wanna cut them up and eat them?"

Aladdin looked at the apples. "Yay! They look really tasty!" he exclaimed.

Tettia licked her lips, she did love apples. "Sure! I love me some apples, Ali!"

Alibaba cut up the apples and was smiling peculiarly at Aladdin. He remained quiet as he watched Tettia and Aladdin eat the apples, Aladdin offering Ugo a piece. After a few moments of being quiet, the young man spoke, "By the way, there's something I wanna ask you, buddy!"

The half-Fanalis knew the blond was referring to her bluenette companion, therefore, she did not say a word. She kept eating the apples. "What's that?" questioned Aladdin.

Alibaba's smiling expression quickly turned into a skeptical one. "What's the deal with the flute?" That question caused Tettia to almost choke on an apple piece.

Holding his flute, the bluenette was confused and sweat-dropped. "T-this? It's just a normal flute…" the young boy stuttered out. In the background, Tettia was having a coughing fit.

Alibaba looked at the young blue-haired Magi in disbelief. What kind of crap was this kid trying to pull? "I'm talking about what's _in_ it! Flutes don't usually sprout arms!" the young blond exclaimed in disbelief.

"Oh! You must mean Ugo," Tettia said after regaining her composure.

"Ugo?" questioned Alibaba.

Aladdin smiled and pointed to his flute. "Yeah! Ugo! He's my friend too! Though, you and the others seem to call him a _Djinn_ or something," explained Aladdin.

 _Score,_ thought the young blond man. "W-where'd you find him? Oh, I'll bet it was a dungeon, right?" exclaimed a hyped Alibaba.

Tettia laughed at the blond's hyperness. "You seem to be a little curious, aren't'cha, Ali?" she asked between laughter.

Blinking his blue eyes, Aladdin was confused. "Dungeon?" he questioned.

"We just explained this yesterday!" exclaimed both Tettia and Alibaba.

With his head cocked to the side in more confusion, Aladdin said, "You two did?"

"Yes! _Dungeons_ are mysterious places where all kinds of secret treasures are sleeping! More specifically, there are some treasures there with mysterious powers! They're from different countries like Rem and Paltebia! People from these countries are looking to get them back too. The biggest treasure of them all is the Djinn container," Alibaba explained.

Laughing, Tettia just looked at Aladdin's wide-eyed expression. A few minutes pass, Tettia still laughing, when Aladdin exclaimed, "That! That's it!"

Her young companion's exclamation caused her to look at him with a interested yet confused look. "Hmm?" she asked her friend.

"What?" also questioned Alibaba.

"We're looking for the _Djinn Container_! That's why we came here!" the young Magi exclaimed, remembering his reason for being there.

That caused Tettia's eyes to widen. How could she have forgotten that? "Fuck… you're right, Laddin. That is why we came here. Geez, I've been friends with you for too long, your forgetfulness is wearing off on me, boy!" exclaimed the Fanalis with a smile, lightly punching Aladdin's arm.

Aladdin laughed at his friend and companion. "You make it sound like a bad thing," he said.

"Your forgetfulness _is_ a bad thing," retorted Tettia.

Alibaba just gazed at the two, even more confused than he already was. "Huh? But… you… well, already have it," he stated, pointing to the bluenette's flute.

Their new friend's statement brought both Aladdin and Tettia out of their conversation. Taking his flute in both hands, Aladdin shook his head side-to-side. Tettia mimicked Aladdin. "No, that is different," said Tettia.

Aladdin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, like Tet said. This is different. I didn't find this in a dungeon, but in a room I was in. When I left, this is what I received," he said.

"Room? Where was Tet?" questioned Alibaba.

Alibaba's adorable confused look made Tettia chuckle. "This was before me and Laddin met, actually," she clarified.

"Yeah, Ugo and I used to reside in a room together… it was a long time ago… a sturdy room located underground," began Aladdin. "For some time, I wasn't able to leave, but after some time I was able to escape. But Ugo's head wasn't so lucky…" A worried look crossed Alibaba's face, yet Tettia was unfazed, and chuckled at the blond's reactions. "Hey, Alibaba, do you think if the three of us went to the dungeon, we'd find that _Djinn Container_?!" asked Aladdin to his new friend. The young bluenette had stood up by that point and was looming over his blond friend, meanwhile his red-haired friend was still munching on apples.

Alibaba was not one-hundred percent sure how to deal with that. He looked shocked to say the least. The young man stumbled over his words, not exactly sure what to say to the young bluenette.

"You can lead us there!" exclaimed the excited bluenette.

Tettia laughing, throwing her arms into the air. "Yeah! Agreed! Ali can lead us!" she exclaimed.

 _What? Just what the hell are this two talking about?!_ Alibaba thought to himself. Surely these two were just kidding.

" **ALIBABA!** " came a loud scream of a male.

Said boy scrambled to get up. "Crap! It's the boss!"

Tettia and Aladdin looked at one another then asked, "Boss?"

"He's the guy who owns the cart that I used for work…"

"Ah…" the red-head and bluenette said in unison.

An old man came into the room, disappointment etched into his facial expression. "Alibaba, why would you do such a thing?!" he exclaimed. "Sir Budel's grape wine was completely wasted, wasn't it? He said in order to compensate for this, we own him 1000 dinal!"

Just like earlier, Alibaba rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "Oh, yeah. I was gonna come and talk to you about that later… hehe…"

The old man was not amused. "This is no laughing matter! They're talking about making you a slave!" exclaimed the old man.

"S-slave?!" both Alibaba and Tettia exclaimed in horror. Aladdin just looked on with an unknowing gaze.

Tettia stuttered, "T-that's crap!"

"The man that drinks the grape wine Budel delivers is a Lord with a fairly bad reputation… he takes great delight in making others his slaves, and causing them endless misery… and now you've gone and made him angry!" The old man fell to his knees and exclaimed, "What am I to do?!"

Alibaba stood in silence and Tettia's eyes were glued to him. Aladdin looked on in complete innocence. "Don't even sweat it boss, I'm not gonna be that guy's slave. I'm gonna go dungeon diving and pay that guy's compensation back!" the blond exclaimed with a grin.

The old man looked at Alibaba in the utmost disbelief. "Huh?" he questioned hysterically.

Turning to face Tettia and Aladdin, Alibaba said, "Hey, Aladdin, Tettia, you both still up for some dungeon diving?"

"Y-yeah…" the two said.

With a smile on his face, Alibaba said, "I'll take you two then! The only things I'll ask for in return, is that Aladdin lets my boss see his Djinn and Tettia, pick up something really heavy!"

Gripping his flute, Aladdin smiled. "Kay!" said Aladdin as he played his flute and out came Ugo. Then, Tettia picked up a heavy piece of furniture, showing off her tremendous strength. The old man fell to the ground in either sheer amazement or sheer terror.

"Boss, these are my buds, Aladdin and Tettia," Alibaba said with an almost dangerous grin. "He's one badass magician! She's one badass in general." They all smiled almost dangerous smiles. "And they are my number one… servants!"

Aladdin's face fell at the title while Tettia's face became enraged. "Excuse me?!" she exclaimed, violently setting down the furniture. Tettia grabbed Alibaba by the rope around his neck and pulled him in close to his face, venom seeped through her words as she said, "Boy, I am a half-Fanalis who will never be _anybody's_ servant… _got it_!"

Alibaba gulped, fearing the young half-Fanalis woman. "Okay, okay. Please don't kill me…" he said.

Tettia let go of Alibaba and just the pure rage that surrounded her threw the old man into even more horror/surprise. The three left the building shortly after that. "Hahaha, Boss was sure surprised! Especially when Tet grabbed me like she did. But since he's been looking after me all this time, I won't let anything bad happen! Now let's hurry up and get the preparations for our dungeon dive in order," said Alibaba. He's expression looked like he had entered a daydream as he listed off what they needed, "We'll need some food, some maps, and brand new knives… ma! Just thinking about going on an adventure makes the heart soar, doesn't it you two?" The blond looked back to see Aladdin and Tettia a few feet behind him, not looking at him.

Both the red-head female and the bluenette boy remained quiet. They just stopped.

"What's up Aladdin?" Alibaba asked, stepping close to the both of them. He knew that Tettia might have still be pissed at him, so he did not ask her. Swiftly, the two friends turned away from him and started to walk the other way. That left the blond feeling shattered and confused. "Are you mad at me?" he asked to Aladdin.

"Not really," came Aladdin's simple, quick answer.

"I'm still mad at you…" mumbled Tettia.

Alibaba followed after the two. "Why are you acting weird, Aladdin? Don't you two want to go dungeon diving? Aladdin, does your stomach hurt?" After not getting a response, the golden-haired boy began to think. "Oh, wait! I get it," he called out with a smile, "Aladdin's worried about his cut of the reward, huh!"

Aladdin remained silent and Tettia shook her head.

"That is important. There's no need to get mad about it though. No worries, man. There'll be a mountain of treasure. So you and Tettia can have your Djinn's container… and I'll just take whatever's left. How's that? Cool huh? So don't be mad," Alibaba spoke as he placed a hand of on of their shoulders.

Aladdin gripped his pants tightly as he said, "I said I'm not mad."

Okay, if Tettia could stay mad through Aladdin's cuteness, she would not have a heart. Even when Aladdin was _"angry"_ , he was still adorable. "Laddin, you are so cute," she said as she started to chuckle a bit.

Meanwhile, Alibaba was having an inner monologue. _You're totally mad… ugh, I don't want to deal with an annoying brat and his Fanalis friend… but if they say 'I don't want to go anymore' that'll be a problem. I know I made it look like no big deal to boss, but there's nothing EASY about dungeon diving… dungeons are places where an army goes in, and in the best case scenarios, one guy comes out. Getting new supplies is one thing, but I need his magic powers and her Fanalis skills to seal the deal! I've gotta do something! Think Alibaba! What will get this kid and his Fanalis friend interested again?!_ Then it hit him.

"Food to die for! Pretty women!" exclaimed Alibaba. The three of them were in a pleasure house. Alibaba was reluctant to bring Tettia, as he did not want to offend her even more and get even more onto her bad side; however, she did not seem to mind being in a pleasure house.

Even the pleasure house was against the idea of letting Tettia in, until she agreed that she would wear an outfit that the girls were wearing just to get in with her friends. The pleasure house, then, agreed and she disappeared to get changed into a revealing exotic dancer outfit.

Alibaba was expecting Aladdin to be having fun, stuffing his face with food and being face-deep in a woman's breasts, but when he looked over, he was face-deep in the couch. The blond's face fell and he was at a loss for words. He clenched his fists. _Dude, this is what you wanted, right?! Why are you being so stubborn?! This is the first time I've even been to a place like this and let's not even get started on how much all of this is costing me!_ he angrily thought to himself.

"Hey, quit being annoying… if you've got a problem, just say it like Tettia did," claimed Alibaba.

Aladdin spoke and was kind of muffled by the couch, "Well, I'm just your… servant, right…?"

"What? I just called you two that to look big in front of the boss. I can't believe both of you were getting bent out of shape over a few words… geez. Fine! Fine! You're both my partners, my buddies, my friends," Alibaba said, finally giving in and saying it.

Those words lifted Aladdin's spirits. The bluenette looked at Alibaba with happy tears in his eyes. "Your friends…? Really? We're friends? Really friends?" he exclaimed, holding Alibaba's hands in a comical way.

"… Yeah… you're both my friends," the blond said.

Both boys heard a familiar laugh coming from beside them. "Hehe~ that's good to hear, Alibaba… sir," said Tettia as she sat on the edge of the couch. Aladdin and Alibaba looked over and saw that she was wearing form-fitting turquoise dress that exposed quite a bit of cleavage. Her semi-wavy and unkempt hair framed her face and drew more attention to her eyes and cleavage. Tettia did not even try to shield herself from the two boys' gaze.

Aladdin smiled at his friend before he zipped off to bury his face in the hostesses' breasts. Tettia looked at him while he did that as she slipped onto the couch right beside the blond boy. Said blond was looking at Aladdin, thinking to himself, _It looks like I've repaired my partnership with him, now I have to do it with Tettia. But man, is Aladdin really just a kid? Why does he have such manly interests then…? It wouldn't kill me to have some fun, would it…?_

"Yeah, I want to have some fun!" Alibaba said, his thoughts and words running together. He had not even noticed that Tettia had slipped onto the couch beside him.

Tettia laughed and noticed a woman walking over to the couch.

"Sorry to keep you waiting… my name is Elizabeth," said the very, for better words, muscular and witch-nosed hostess in a very pretty, feminine voice.

The young blond's face went blank and he looked at Elizabeth with disinterest and disbelief. Tettia noticed that and smirked to herself. Touching Alibaba's shoulder, she shooed Elizabeth away. "Actually, Elizabeth… I got this one, okay?" she stated boldly.

Elizabeth looked at Tettia, who she did not seem to realize. "Excuse me? But he asked for the most popular hostess," she spoke calmly.

"Well, be that as it may, the boss thought it would be better for me to take this one. You can go back to your other customers. Don't want to keep them waiting, do you?" Tettia skillfully lied.

The muscular hostess stood there and looked at Tettia. "I suppose you have a point. You must be new around here, though. I believe you'll know what your doing. I'll be heading back to my other customers. Bye," she said before she walked away.

Alibaba sweat-dropped and looked at Tettia, who was smiling brightly. "Thank you… for sparing me from… _that_ …" he thanked.

His _hostess_ smiled and uncorked the jug of wine, pouring him a glass of wine. "You're welcome… _master_ ," she said.

"And now what you've all been waiting for! It's service time! Everyone take your time and enjoy yourselves on us~!" called out a man.

Tettia and Alibaba looked at each other as they saw the girls around them getting into the laps of their customers. Alibaba's face became heated as he saw Tettia shrug and get onto his lap. "Might as well play the part, so Elizabeth doesn't come back," said the red-headed Fanalis with a slight blush. "I guess do whatever you want…" she muttered.

Alibaba did not know what to do. This was his friend and Aladdin's good friend. His hands itched to grope, but would she kill him later? He looked at her and she was smiling.

Tettia rolled her eyes, still smiling, grabbed one of his hands and placed it on one of her breasts. "Just do it already, loser," she said and kissed his cheek.

"This place is soooooooo much fun!" exclaimed Aladdin, who was having the time of his life. He was blushing as he nuzzled up against a hostess. "I looooooove it~" then he was face-deep in the hostess's breasts. "Loooooooooooove it~!"

While he was doing that, Tettia and Alibaba were… well… having fun as well. But not in a overly sexually way.

After that, they all three walked out, Tettia had since changed back into her normal clothes. "I had so much fun!" exclaimed Aladdin. "Say, when our adventure ends… do you think we could come back, you two?"

Tettia and Alibaba looked just as satisfied as Aladdin did. They looked at one another then at Aladdin. "Sure," they said.

"I would enjoy it," Tettia said, "I actually had a fun time."

Alibaba smiled. "Me too."

Smiling at the blond, Tettia kissed his cheek. "I know _you_ did. I'll be there to save you from her again." The blush returned as Alibaba looked at the half-Fanalis. The Fanalis just smiled slyly at the blond. "Maybe next time, you'll get even luckier," she joked, sticking out her tongue.

Could those two have an attraction to one another? Only time will tell.


	4. Yay! Dungeon Diving!

**Chapter Four: Yay! Dungeon Diving!**

* * *

"Fourteen years ago history states that the first reported sighting was. Suddenly, they appeared from the depths of the oceans… huge and mysterious buildings. This would be the very first dungeon!" a male's voice began to recall, "The strange edifice appeared, heralding in an unknown culture and never before seen architecture. The mystery couldn't be destroyed… and there was only one entrance into it. From that entrance, a mysterious light beckoned the outdoors."

A female's voice chimed in with the recollection, "Many people feared this tower, but within the masses, there were some who took delight in the dungeon… an they were the scientists! Before long, there was a line of researchers who wanted to investigate the phenomenon, their numbers easily in the thousands. Eventually, emperors and soldiers alike couldn't restrain their curiosity, and threw their greatest talents into the excavation."

"The expectations of the people were rising! However, two thousand researchers, a myriad of soldiers all met their end during their explorations… not a single person returned alive to tell the tale of the dungeon! Before long, people has started calling it the _hole of death_ … just as people were giving up hope, and there didn't seem to be a person willing to stand up to this mystery… something happened," the male voice continued.

Trading off once again, the female voice picked up and said, "The dungeon door opened… and something appeared… radiant treasures being carried by a blue giant! Leading the way would be a single young man! Can you believe it?!"

It turned out that Alibaba and Tettia had been recalling the story. "And that's how the story of how one guy managed to clear the first dungeon!" Tettia and Alibaba said together, smiling wishfully.

"And guess what, that boy went on to become king! Isn't that awesome, Aladdin? He's totally my hero!" Alibaba exclaimed.

Aladdin was looking at the two with excitement. He had never heard that story before. After getting things together, the three of them exited a building and Aladdin asked, "So, we're going to that _first dungeon_ then?"

Tettia patted Aladdin's head, smiling down at him. "I don't think we're going there, Laddin," she said.

Nodding in agreement, Alibaba spoke, "Yeah. You, Tettia and I are going to a different _dungeon_."

"Different?"

"You're so cute, Aladdin!" gushed Tettia.

"Yep. Apparently, when a dungeon has been completely cleared out by someone, it disappears. So that _first dungeon_ is completely gone… there's not even a sign of it ever having existed," the blond said.

Understanding that, Tettia nodded. "Ahh! But since that time, several other dungeons have popped up everywhere… so there is plenty of them to go and see!" she exclaimed.

Alibaba nodded. "Precisely."

Aladdin got even more excited. "That's good! Since there are so many, there's gotta be one that hasn't been cleared!"

Tettia gushed over Aladdin's adorableness even more. "So fucking cute!"

Honey-brown eyes looked down at the bluenette. "That's good, but it's not at the same time. By the way, we're going to one of the dungeons that appeared ten years ago… but do you both really understand what that means?" he asked the two.

Tettia raised her hand. "Yeah! I know! The fact that this dungeon is still around means that it's a place that no one has successfully been able to dive. MEANING, in the ten years it's been around, if you entered, it was basically you signing your own death certificate," she spoke knowledgeably.

Aladdin's face became one of worry. "We're talking life and death here…" he muttered.

"You two scared?" Alibaba asked.

Tettia shook her head. She was not going to back down from this. "Hell no! Let's go already!"

"N-no, I'm going!" answered Aladdin.

Alibaba was confident in Tettia's answer, but not so much about Aladdin's answer. "For real? It's a dangerous journey!"

"I don't care!" exclaimed Aladdin. He was just as determined at Tettia was.

Their golden-haired friend was still not confident about the bluenette's answer; therefore he wanted to go the extra mile to make doubly sure Aladdin was ready. "An adventure of hardship!"

"That doesn't bother me! There's no mountain high enough and no valley low enough to discourage me!" yelled Aladdin.

"He's right, ya know, Ali," said Tettia. She was ready to go into this dungeon.

Alibaba looked at Tettia, then back at Aladdin. "Alrighty! Let's go!"

An exasperated sigh left Tettia's lips. "FINALLY!"

The golden-haired boy turned around, exclaiming, "We're here!"

Both the bluenette and red-head looked behind them. "Whaaa?" they questioned. Sure enough, there was the entrance to the dungeon. Aladdin and Tettia shared expressions of disbelief, while Alibaba held a triumphant smile. The dungeon was not far from where they all started. Taking a double-take from where they started to where they ended. "It's so close…!" they exclaimed.

The blond just looked at them, silently shrugging with his honey-brown eyes. "I never said it was far, you two…" he stated.

Tettia looked at it… then stated calmly, "So this is the stairway to death, eh?"

"…to death?" questioned Aladdin.

Alibaba sighed, "Yeah, they said in ten years that nearly one thousand people have climbed these stairs and ended up in the afterlife… heh, stairs that you walk up and basically never walk down from then, huh?"

The half-Fanalis female shrugged. "Well, we'll be okay though. You have me and Laddin, Ali," she said simply.

Alibaba stood there, thinking, until Aladdin made a face at him. The face startled the blond. "What was that for?!" he exclaimed.

The bluenette started up the stairs. "Don't be scared, Alibaba, things will work out! As Tet said: you have us! Also, this isn't the stairway to death… but the path to your dreams!" said the young Magi, holding a hand out to Alibaba and pointing forward.

A confident smile made its way onto Alibaba's face. Tettia walked up the stairs as well, smiling at him. "You heard the boy, let's go down the path of our dreams!" she exclaimed.

"Hell yeah! Let's go!" Alibaba said, walking up the stairs… just to walk back down. The blond zipped by Tettia and Aladdin, leaving them confused.

"Why'd you go back?!" exclaimed the bluenette.

"I didn't say we'd be going now! Don't be stupid you two, for dungeon diving, being prepared is everything! First, lets go buy some supplies!" Aladdin and Tettia were disappointed, but they agreed.

The three were at a shop that sold weapons. "There's a lot to buy, too~" said Aladdin in a bubbly voice.

"Well yeah," Tettia stated.

"There's provisions, weapons… the city nearest to the Seventh Dungeon is a gathering place for adventurers," spoke Alibaba.

Tettia and Aladdin were looking at weapons. Aladdin picked up a weird one with one blade that had several branches on it. "Hey, Alibaba, how about this thing?" the young boy asked, a cute smile on his lips.

"And what would you use that fancy-ass thing for?" question the blond and red-head. It was then that either Aladdin started falling over or swinging the sword around. "Hey stop! That's dangerous!" the two exclaimed.

Alibaba had not noticed that he was close to someone who was walking up beside him. Someone who was carrying an abnormally large basket of apples. The blond bumped into the person and the apples go flying out of the basket, the empty basket landing on that person's head. He landed in front of the person, on his back and looked horrified that that had happened.

Tettia looked over the blond's body, and her red eyes looked at him with a blank, deadpanned expression. "Nice going, klutz…" she said, referring to Alibaba. "Look where you're going next time."

"How was I supposed to know!" fussed the blond. "I told Aladdin this would happen!"

"S-sorry!" apologized Aladdin.

Tettia kneeled down and went to help the person, who turned out to be a girl. "I'm sorry about those two, miss. Let me help you," she said. Once Tettia looked at the girl she noticed the girl's red hair and eyes. Unmistakable, this girl was a Fanalis, too.

Swiftly, the girl picked up the apples, put them back in the basket and placed it on her head. She wore a cute little pout, her cheeks puffed out in either anger or annoyance.

 _Ooh… she's so cute!_ thought both Alibaba and Tettia. Alibaba was about to speak, until Tettia violently grabbed the rope around his neck again, which shut him up. "I apologize for these two, ma'am. You okay? Do you want some help carrying that?" asked one female Fanalis to the other.

The other Fanalis looked at the three, shook her head and spoke in a soft, serious voice, "No… I'm fine."

"On second thought, not cute…" muttered Alibaba.

That statement caused Tettia to yank on the rope, bringing him close to her face again. "Do you want to be hurt?" she asked in a threatening tone.

The blond immediantly shook his head. "N-no ma'am…!"

While that was happening, the girl started to walk away and Aladdin noticed something. "What's up?" the two asked; Tettia letting Alibaba get a little bit away from her face, yet still holding the rope.

"Those…" the bluenette said, pointing to chains on the girl's feet.

Both Tettia and Alibaba were shocked. "H-how…?" Tettia muttered, now fully letting go of the rope around Alibaba's neck. The girl looked back and noticed how the three were staring at her feet. Her face erupted in an embarrassed blush as she bent over to try and pull her dress down in an attempt to cover her chains. The girl's attempt to cover her chains caused her to drop the basket.

Aladdin did not know what was going on. "That girl, she had chains on her feet…"

"Yeah…" Alibaba and Tettia began, "She's a slave…" Their faces were contorted in sympathy.

"Slaves, they are people who are on the market for physical labor. In this era, they are mere _property_ to the rich that usually employ them. They suffer harshly at the cruelty of their masters," Tettia said through gritted teeth. She hated seeing her fellow Fanalis a mere slave, they were built for so much better things, yet this child was a _slave_.

"Yeah, on this _rotten_ planet, there are people who wage wars _just_ to get more slaves… they'll take whole families and sell them like livestock…" Alibaba said.

Tettia looked over at him. "And until you settle that _little_ debt of yours, you're kinda in the same boat, Ali," she said.

He nodded. "Yeah, I know." Alibaba looked around and noticed Aladdin wasn't beside Tettia. "Huh, Tet? Where's Aladdin?" he asked.

"Shit!" exclaimed Tettia as she saw Aladdin walking towards the slave girl.

"Hold on, miss!" he called out. Then, he played his flute and the chains broke. "All better! Now, miss," the bluenette said with a smile, "You can walk down the street without having to hide your legs!"

 _CRAP!_ Tettia and Alibaba thought, the color draining from their faces. Everyone in the streets looked silently and with cruel gazes directed at Aladdin. What he had just done, no matter how nice a gesture, was a crime.

"Laddin… you can't do that…" mumbled Tettia, face-palming. Both her and Alibaba walked over to Aladdin.

Alibaba nodded and agreed with Tettia, "Tet's right! You can't do that! Taking off those chains is a _big no-no_!"

An innocent look was what they got as a response. "Why's that, guys?" he innocently questioned. Both friends stammered, trying to find the words to tell the young naive boy why it was bad. But, instead, they got the same innocent question, "Why's it bad?"

Everyone looked shocked: Tettia, Alibaba and the slave girl. That was when the fat-ass from the day prior decided to make his unsightly appearance. Walking down the street with some goonies in tote, Budel exclaimed, "Hey! What's all the ruckus?!" That pig noticed people starting to crowd around him and of course, he had something to say about it. "Hey, don't crowd around me! Right now I'm in a bad mood… hm?" Budel caught the sight of Alibaba.

Alibaba caught the gaze of that pig and his emotions went blank for a moment. "AH!" they both yelled at seeing one another again.

Tettia growled dangerously and rolled her eyes. "What the fuck are _you_ doing here, Budel- **PIG**?!" she asked angrily.

"Hey! I remember you from yesterday… the old guy with boobs!" exclaimed Aladdin, pointing to Budel.

Another dangerous growl left Tettia's throat. "Don't point at him, Aladdin, you'll catch his fatness," she hissed.

"Shut the hell up, brats! Dammit all, it's your fault that I lost the trust of my best customers! I'll never forgive you…!" growled Budel.

Tettia narrowed her eyes to a dangerous point, glaring harshly at the fat man. "Look here, pig, does it look like _I_ give a _goddamn_ about your bullshit customers and business?! No, I don't! How about you do us _ALL_ a favor and go die in a hole," the half-Fanalis said in a dangerously low, serious tone.

Thinking he was better than Tettia, Budel ignored what she had said as he noticed the shackles on the slave girl broken. "Peons like you… do know that stealing slaves is considered grand larceny, right?" he said dangerously.

Alibaba had to hold Tettia back, wrapping his arms around her torso as she started to walk towards Budel. The blond knew if he let the half-Fanalis girl go, she would murder the grape winer right in the middle of the street. Tettia would not care who saw, as long as she got rid of Budel. "Tettia… calm down," he whispered to her.

Aladdin was actually, for the first time, kind of frightened of his friend Tettia. The bluenette had never been truly afraid of her, but Budel rubbed Tettia the wrong way and Aladdin knew it. He stared at Alibaba holding back a severely pissed off Tettia in complete silence.

"Seriously." stated Budel.

Still holding back the pissed off Tettia, the blond said to Budel, "Sir, take a minute to think this through rationally… we're just three ordinary, weaponless people. How would we manage to cut chains? See?"

Crossing his arms, Budel spoke, "What I'm interested in hearing from you isn't excuses, kiddo. I want to know how you're going to pay that 1000 dinal that you owe me. Hm…? Do you _want_ to hear it…?"

Alibaba looked at Budel from over Tettia's shoulder, his head sinking down onto her shoulder.

With a completely serious look on his face, Budel said, "Be my slave. You can be my slave… for your whole life… and work! Oh and don't worry, I will get every penny's worth from you!"

Tettia became even more enraged, she struggled against Alibaba, how was he keeping her from moving? She was a half-Fanalis, she had tremendous strength, could it be that she did not want to get away from Alibaba? Possible.

A smug looked washed over Budel fat face as he picked up the Fanalis slave by her side-ponytail. "Being a slave is tough… huh?! I can do all kinds of things to you, and you can't say a word…"

"Stop it, fat-ass…! Let go of me, Ali!" growled Tettia as she finally wiggled out of Alibaba's grasp.

"If you don't like it, let's talk _payment_ then!"

Budel was successfully quieted when Tettia slammed her foot into Budel's face. Once the fat pig went down, Tettia brutally started kicking him. "Take this, you fat pig! You think you can do shit like this to slaves and _NOT_ get you comeuppance?! And just because he owe you money for your shitty wine doesn't give you the FUCKING RIGHT to boss him around! UNDERSTAND ME!?" she yelled, not letting up with her abuse of Budel.

Both Alibaba and Aladdin looked at each other, scared out of their minds. "A-Aladdin… did you know she could get _that_ mad?" asked a frightened Alibaba. "I'm not saying he doesn't deserve this but…"

Aladdin shook his head. "T-Tet's never been this mad before…"

"Let's never piss her off…"

"Yeah, agreed, Alibaba."

Tettia stopped after about five really good kicks. "Ali is never gonna be your slave, pig! It's people like you that I hate most and make me loose my temper, PIG!" she exclaimed.

Budel was pissed. "OFFICER! I FOUND SOME SLAVE THIEVES!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "YOU'D BETTER COME QUICK, THESE THREE HAVE PURE EVIL IN THEIR EYES! THEY'RE LOWDOWN SLAVE RUSTLERS!"

"Oh, you're lucky I can't kill you or else, you. would. be. dead!" exclaimed Tettia as she grabbed Alibaba and Aladdin and sped off. They were soon chased by the guards. "Laddin, Ugo, please!"

Aladdin called upon Ugo and the three of them were on Ugo's shoulders. "From here on is our dungeon diving adventure!" exclaimed the bluenette.

"YEAH!" yelled Tettia.

Budel's fat ass was running, trying to catch the three. "Don't let the, get away! Catch those dirty mice using any means necessary! I'll curse you for the rest of your miserable little life! You and red-head will be my slave! You'll be my slave until you pay all of that money back, she'll be my slave her whole life! I'll make you both regret being born and then kill you, driver!" yelled Budel.

"I'm going to kill him," threatened Tettia.

"Let's go dungeon diving, you two!" yelled Alibaba.

Happily, Tettia and Aladdin exclaimed, "YEAH!" They ran off on Ugo.

Aladdin looked down. "Thank goodness, it looks like that girl got away!"

Tettia was noticeably relieved. "Thank goodness. I lost it when I saw her being a slave."

Meanwhile, Budel was being carried back to his boss's building. His goonies asked if he was okay, to which he replied, "Shut up! Just keep me carrying me! BOSS! I mean, CHIEF! CHIEF!"

Budel's boss, Jamil, was busy with something and then he looked up. "What's up? Your face looks all dirtied up…" he said nonchalantly.

Budel wheezed, "I have a report!"

"Calm down, you look totally wiped out…" Jamil said.

"Forgive my impertinence… for I have found him. The brats that ruined me!"

Jamil signaled for Budel to shut up with a single hand gesture. "I already know everything about them. My precious _puppy_ told me…" he said. The slave girl from earlier was there. Jamil looked over at his _precious slave_. "You're a good girl, Morgiana. How about dinner together?" he asked with a smile.

"No thanks," declined Morgiana.

"Ahahah, you're cute when you're aloof, you know? In any case, our prey is after something much better…" Jamil said, his demeanor did a 180.

Aladdin, Alibaba and Tettia arrived at the dungeon. "I don't see those police guys anymore!" exclaimed Aladdin.

"Hey look! I see the entrance to the dungeon straight ahead!" exclaimed Alibaba, pointing ahead of the three.

Alibaba started to say something but Tettia interrupted. "Can we just go?" she asked just as Aladdin ran into her back, causing her to push Alibaba in first, the two followed behind Alibaba. The three of them were now sucked into the dungeon.

"WE WEREN'T READY!" exclaimed Alibaba.

"Oh well," said Tettia.


	5. Inside the Seventh Dungeon

**Chapter Five: Inside the Seventh Dungeon**

* * *

The three fell into the dungeon. When Alibaba came to, he was underwater. Quickly, he surfaced with a loud gasp only to find that the water around him was very shallow and an eight-pointed star was located underneath him. The blond coughed, trying to get his breath back.

"Heey!" called out a familiar young boy's voice as two shadows ran towards the blond.

"You're finally here, loser!" called a female's voice. Alibaba looked up to see Aladdin and Tettia.

"F-finally!" wheezed Alibaba.

Aladdin and Tettia touched his wet arms. "We emerged first. Our clothes are all dry now," the two long-time friends said.

Alibaba touched the their clothes and was amazed that they were, indeed, dry. _Wow, they're for real! We all got in at the same time, so how'd they get here first? More importantly, how did time get screwed up in the first place?_ the blond thought to himself. Tettia and Aladdin grabbed the blond's hands. They all walked away and Alibaba noticed something. His honey-brown eyes looked down. "Whoa, the sky is dark and the ground is red…" he said.

Tettia smiled at him, smiling widely. "Yeah! Everything changed in a second," she replied, looking down at the ground as well. The ground held a deep crimson color, a few shades darker than her hair color.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" asked Aladdin in a cheerful voice.

Tettia smiled at the bluenette. "It sure is!"

"Even though it's pretty and all… I can't help but think I've seen this scenery before…" the young Magi said with a open-mouthed grin.

The bluenette's statement had Alibaba looking at him in confusion, while Tettia looked at him with an understanding smile. "I'm sure you have, Laddin," she said.

Suddenly, both Aladdin and Tettia grabbed one of Alibaba's hands and pointed forward. "Hey, c'mon! There's something great over here too!" the friends exclaimed joyously, running towards another room. The room in which they had appeared from.

Alibaba shielded his eyes from the light for a few brief moments before he looked around. His facial expressions went from unknowing to unbelieving. The two others stood before him and extended their arms to the sky, showing him what the room had to give. The chamber in which the three were in had plants they had never seen. "What the hell?! The rock wall is shining… and I've never seen those plants before! That's… that's…"

"Amazing?" Tettia asked with a grin.

"No! That's a dungeon!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Tettia shrugged before exclaiming, "Oh well~ it's still amazing!"

Aladdin threw his arms into the air and yelled, "We did it!"

The blond was overly excited. "I can't believe we're here! I guess that spring earlier must have been the _starting point_ …" he exclaimed, also throwing his arms into the air with a joyous expression.

Crossing her arms with an amused lopsided grin, Tettia said, "For someone who was initially upset that we got shoved in here, you sure are hella happy now, Alibaba."

"Starting… point…?" asked Aladdin with a smile.

"Yeah!" Alibaba simultaneously answered both of his new friends.

Tettia rolled her eyes playfully. "You must have read about them, aye?" she asked.

Alibaba nodded and his honey colored orbs almost twinkled with enthusiasm. "Of course I did! I read about it in the famous _Sinbad's Adventure Log_!"

"Right! Upon entering the labyrinth's gate, one will fly through a pillar of light; upon advancing on the correct path, treasures await; most importantly…" Tettia quoted the adventure log.

"… it is here that the _Djinn Container_ can be found!" both the blond and red-head finished, unable to contain their excitement.

Aladdin nodded, intriguied by what they had said. "Ooooh," he gasped in amazement, "I'm actually impressed that you know that, Tet."

Tettia smiled and gushed, "Of course I know that, I am a huge fan of Sinbad's! I've always wanted to meet him~!" She then cupped one of her cheeks and began to fantasize about meeting the man. "I've heard he's really handsome~! Even better is that he has cleared so many dungeons… eek!" she squealed.

"Then we can get the treasures we want and get out of here so you can meet him… if we find that _goal_ thingy where the treasures are! Right?" Aladdin said.

"Correct!" both Alibaba and Tettia answer him.

The bluenette looked around, putting his hands behind his back. "But there sure are a lot of entrances here… how do we find the right path without getting lost?" he asked.

Alibaba was so pumped, he did not even wait for there to be a unanimous agreement. Bolting towards an entrance, he called, "Let's go, guys, down this hole!"

Both Tettia and Aladdin answered him with, "What?! Why that one?!"

Alibaba took off towards the entrance, the bluenette and red-head following after him calling out, "Wait!" Unfortunately, their blond friend disappeared from their sight.

Tettia stopped mid-run and shook her head. "Goddammit Alibaba…" she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Now we have to go after him, Laddin."

"Yeah… I know…"

Budel looked at the man he called _leader_ with a dumfounded expression. "Huh? Sir, what did you just say?" he questioned Jamil.

Standing up, the slave-owner said, "Meh, don't make me repeat myself… I said I'm going dungeon diving."

The fat Budel was not happy about that. He sweatdropped as he said, "Are you serious, leader?! Many thousands have made dungeons their graves! Going dungeon diving is the same as having a death wish!"

Jamil remained quiet for a few brief moments before he answered, "Well, you aren't wrong, but those kids from earlier are going into a dungeon… so if little kids like that can do it, I shouldn't have any problems, right? I've been waiting for them… the time for me to ascend has come."

Budel looked on, confused by his leader's words. Finally, someone said what he was thinking. " _Ascend_? Sir, there's hardly any reason for that…"

Another man commented, "That's right, sir, you have wealth, slaves, and the amount of land you own is second to none."

Jamil looked down at something as he answered, "Yes… my territory is unmatched by any other man in our kingdom… but then, why not become the boss?" Jamil walked over to two slave girls who looked at him in horror. He slapped the plate of food from one of the girl's to the ground, "You see…" then he started to kick the girls, "I'm not satisfied with this food. These women… or the land I own!" he enunciated every cruel word with equal, if not more, cruel abusive kicks to the slave girls. "As long as the king is there, I am still _only second_!" The men who worked under Jamil looked on in utter fear. A dangerous looked flashed in Jamil's eyes as he said, "So if I go dungeon diving, I'll obtain the country I _deserve_! Let's go!" Two of his favorite slaves followed after him: Morgiana and an unnamed man.

Alibaba was walking in front of his other two companions in huge, happy strides. "Maaan! I can't believe we've finally made it here! It feels so awesome! I'm sure once I get the treasure, the old man is gonna freak! Right gu—" he was cut off by Aladdin grabbing his clothing. In direct response, the blond face-planted into the floor.

Looking back to see who made him fall, he saw Aladdin had done it. Tettia was stifling her laughter. "Aladdin! Why'd you do that?!"

"Well…" the young boy began. "I'm actually kind of scared now… so how about we go back and give this some more thought?"

Now that caught Tettia off guard. "What are you talking about?!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah! Man up and let's go! You want the treasure too, don't you?" exclaimed Alibaba as he held his chin, tears in the corners of his eyes. That make-out session with the ground sure must have hurt.

"Yeah… but…" the bluenette trailed off.

Tettia sat down beside Alibaba. "That looked like it hurt, Ali. Did you at least make sure that the ground enjoyed that make-out session?" she asked with a grin.

"Shut up," the blond said.

"Anyways, what if we die before we get it?" the bluenette questioned. His questioned caused both Tettia and Alibaba to fall silent. They both looked at one another, trying to come up with a reaction to the young Magi's question. "Tettia, you said it yourself… ten years worth of dungeon diving, no one has ever returned from the _hole of death_. This is really dangerous, especially if we lose our way in the dungeon. This maze is where our dreams are going to come true, right?" He smiled at the two and finished. "So let's take a step back and think about this together!"

"I agree with Aladdin," Tettia agreed, smiling at the young boy.

"Yeah… you're right~" said Alibaba as he rubbed the back of his head.

As Alibaba sat there his mind began to wander. The dungeon and its contents were largely unknown, this caused his heart to lose confidence and waver. On the other, Aladdin and Tettia remained level-headed, the former being more level-headed than the later. They had already been one step ahead of Alibaba and waited for that moment. It was this little stopover after their entrance that saved the three's lives. They walked back through the hole and reentered the large chamber with all of the entrances.

"There sure are a lot of hole, though~" Tettia cooed.

"And they all look the same, too…" muttered Alibaba, rubbing his neck, looking at all the entrances.

"Alibaba! Tet! Hey, look what I found! This hole has something written on the wall beside it!" the bluenette exclaimed as he pointed to something on the wall.

Both Tettia and Alibaba walked over to the bluenette. "Hm? Let me see?" they both said, bending close. Sure enough, there was something there. An "X".

"You're right!" Tettia exclaimed with a smile. "It's an X!"

"What does it mean?" Aladdin asked.

"Are there any more?" Alibaba asked.

"Let's have a look!" Tettia exclaimed.

They got to looking. "This one is an 'O'!" Aladdin exclaimed.

Tettia looked at one with a perplexed look. "And this one… I really don't know? However! It seems like the holes around here all have some kind of mark!"

Thirty minutes later, Alibaba and Tettia laid beside each other on their back, utterly exhausted for a few moments. Aladdin laid on his stomach as he drew the symbols into the ground with a stick. "O, X, X, O… there are so many, yet we have no idea what they're for. Maybe the o's are for the correct path?"

Alibaba breathed out, "as if it's that simple!"

" _For real, it can't be that simple. Then people wouldn't have gotten lost… in this place for ten years,_ is that what you're thinking?" Tettia smiled.

Alibaba looked at Tettia with an unknown horror as she basically read his mind. If she could read his mind, that would not bode well for him if her ever thought anything… _else_ , not dungeon related. As he looked at Tettia, he looked back at the symbols drawn in the ground. "Wait, could it be?" Alibaba shot off the ground. Both Aladdin and Tettia looked at Alibaba. "Hey, Aladdin, Tettia! Find a hole without a mark!"

"O-okay!" Aladdin said as he ran to look.

"Aye!" exclaimed Tettia as she ran off to find one.

Both Aladdin and Tettia found one. "Here we go! This one has no mark on it, but…" the bluenette said.

Alibaba walked towards to the unmarked hole. "All right…" he said, placing a hand on the wall. "This is the correct path!"

"WHAT?" his other companions exclaimed. "So why doesn't it have a mark on it?" they asked.

"That's 'cause… hey, Aladdin, Tettia, we call this a mark, but it's huge and split apart… so I get the idea that this was drawn by a human."

"I guess so…" Aladdin spoke.

"So then who do you think drew it?" asked Tettia.

Aladdin looked over at his half-Fanalis companion. "Hmm… I guess someone else who was here before us?"

Tettia nodded. "Possible. Ali, what do you think?"

"Aladdin's right! It was someone who was in the dungeon ten years ago! It was the people going through this very same passage over the years! The first set of people who got lost in these dungeons a long time ago made these marks. Like us, they were trying to figure out the right way… however, they found both entrances that were right and wrong. So, Tet, Aladdin, tell me, if you walked along and found out that the path you took was wrong, what you do?" Alibaba said.

Without skipping a beat, the two friends replied, "I'd go back and try another path."

"That's what you'd do if you had to return. That explains why all the different holes have marks on them. Whenever you'd enter one and find the hole was wrong, you'd come back out, make a mark and try another. I think you both know where I'm going with this, don't ya?!"

Aladdin and Tettia's faces lit up. "Yeah! The hole without a mark by the entrance is the right one!" they both exclaimed happily.

"Bingo!"

"The right one!" They exclaimed.

Alibaba took off once again, "Let's go, Aladdin, Tettia!"

Childishly, Aladdin and Tettia threw their arms into the air again and followed after him. "Yeah~!" Their guess would lead them down the right path without a shadow of a doubt, however, what awaited them down the _right_ _path_ was an unexpected death trap.

The three walked with huge grins on their faces. "We're making some great progress!" said Tettia.

"Yeah! There don't seem to be any traps, either," Alibaba said with a persistent smile.

Aladdin laughed and looked at the two. "That's because we picked the right path!" the bluenette exclaimed.

Tettia's red orbs glanced towards Alibaba as she said, "That's all because Ali here was the one who decoded the symbols. Good work, Ali."

Blushing at her words, Alibaba looked away and played off his blush. "That aside, isn't this cave really bright?"

Tettia smiled and rolled her eyes. Aladdin noticed a moss on the wall. "Alibaba! Tet! It's this moss! The yellow moss growing on the walls is really shiny!"

"Oh! It's true!"

"I've never seen this kind of stuff before," gushed Tettia.

Aladdin smiled. "It's pretty~"

"There's plenty in this dungeon that we're seeing for the first time," Tettia said with a grin.

Aladdin laughed. "Yep~! Alibaba! Tet! There's more light coming from that room!" the bluenette called out, pointing to another room emitting light.

"Oh, really now? Let's have a look, shall we, Laddin? Ali?" Tettia said with a smile.

Alibaba walked into the room and exclaimed, "Woooooow!" Inside the room where spheres floating in air that emitted light from them. "What're these things?!" the blond exclaimed.

Tettia walked towards one. "They appear to be balls of light. I've never seen the likes of these before," she said in a cheerful manner.

"Awesome!" Aladdin exclaimed. "They shine like rainbows and they smell kind of good. They've got to be a new species of fruit!"

Laughing, Tettia said, "No way. See that line connecting them, and the lights?"

"That's all treasure man!" said Alibaba.

The half-Fanalis sighed. _Is treasure the only thing Ali thinks about? But, I mean, I guess he is in a predicament that he desperately needs the money…_ she thought to herself. "Let's name these things _Rainbow Balls_!" she exclaimed.

"So awesome!" said the young boy.

Tettia held one of her arms behind her back. "There sure are a lot of exciting things in this dungeon, I'm really happy you brought Laddin and myself with you, Alibaba," she said, smiling brightly at the young blond.

Aladdin nodded. "Yeah! I'm so glad we came, too, Alibaba!"

Said blond looked at the two and smiled. "What're you two talking about? No matter how you slice it, I should be saying that to you two! I've always wanted to come to a dungeon, but I couldn't do it on my own, because I thought I'd die. Then, you two came along and I finally did it… I owe you both tons of thanks for saving me, as well." As he spoke, Aladdin ran over to a _rainbow ball_ and Tettia stood by the young man, he did not notice that the young Magi had run off. "So let's keep working together from here on in… and keep this show on the road!" Alibaba patted _Aladdin's_ head and placed a hand on Tettia's shoulder. "Okay, Aladdin, Tettia?" he said with a smile.

Tettia's face held a terrified look. "T-that's not Aladdin!" she exclaimed. It was a ant-creature the size of their young friend. Horrified, they both staggered backwards and into a rainbow ball. "Aladdin?! Where are you?"

"Alibaba! Tet!" called the young Magi.

Both Alibaba and Tettia looked over their shoulders towards the direction of the young bluenette's voice. He was in the jaws of a large version of the ant-creature that Alibaba had mistaken as Aladdin. Tettia squealed. "A-are you okay?! Let my friend down you tit!"

"You gotta save me… please?" said Aladdin.

Alibaba panicked while Tettia jumped to action. "YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I'LL SAVE YOU!" screamed Tettia as she grabbed the boy and pulled him out of the ant's mouth. "Are you okay, sweetie?!" exclaimed Tettia.

"My body's all sticky…" said Aladdin.

That was when shit hit the fan. The _rainbow balls_ turned out to be eggs and they hatched. "Fuck…" muttered the half-Fanalis.

Alibaba was upset. "These aren't _treasures_ , they're not treasures at all!"

"They're the eggs of ant monsters!" Tettia exclaimed.

"Tet, Alibaba, hold onto me!" exclaimed Aladdin as he readied his flute. Tettia did not have to be told twice, neither did Alibaba; they hold onto Aladdin as he made Ugo appear. "Let's get out of here!" Ugo started running and the three held on tight. The ant monsters followed the three and the large Djinn.

Alibaba looked back to see the monsters not following them anymore. "Geez, that was close… well, at least they aren't chasing us."

"Then… do you think I could rest a little?" asked Aladdin.

"Huh?" questioned the blond. The three fell as Ugo retreated back into his flute. "Hey, why not blow on that flute until we're in the clear?!"

Tettia lightly punched Alibaba's shoulder. "Because we have to save it!"

"Hm?"

"I already called Ugo twice today and in order to summon him, I have to use power from within myself!" exclaimed Aladdin. Tettia nodded and Alibaba vaguely understood. Aladdin grew weak. "I'm so hungry."

The three began to run. "Is this the time to complain?" asked Alibaba.

"For Laddin, yes! He needs a lot of food!" exclaimed Tettia.

That was when the three heard something, they looked back and were surprised and horrified. "THE ANTS GREW LEGS?!" yelled Tettia.

The ants had them surrounded. "They've trapped us! Where the hell did they get those feet from anyway?!" exclaimed Alibaba.

"Welp, I won't go down by the likes of some stupid ant!" exclaimed Tettia, producing one of the two daggers she had from within her clothes.

Alibaba looked at Tettia and then produced his own weapon. "Agreed!" After pulling their weapons, Alibaba was the first to lunge at an ant monster. It _melted_ as he slashed it. "Whoa, they cut like moldy apricots!"

"It's never that simple, Ali!" exclaimed Tettia as the blob moved and materialized. "Told ya! They're not ants! It's a slime." Alibaba kept slashing at the slimes. "… honey, no matter how much you cut them, they'll come back."

The blond was determined to defeat the slimes. "I'll cut you guys so small that you won't be able to get back up again!" he exclaimed with sheer determination. The slimes looked at them before they melted. "Hm?" questioned Alibaba.

Beginning to merge with the other, the slimes made themselves into the King Slime. The three companions looked at the king slime in disbelief. "No way!" yelled Tettia.

The slime shrieked and threw an attack at them. Alibaba grabbed Aladdin and jumped out of the way and Tettia jumped out of the way as well. "A-are you kidding?!" yelled Alibaba.

Tettia vaguely heard Aladdin as he said, bringing the flute to his lips, "Sorry, but we're gonna need you a third time, Ugo!"

"Ali! Stop Aladdin before he summons Ugo again!" yelled Tettia, but it was too late, the Djinn had been summoned again. Ugo punched the king slime.

"Sweet! From here, we totally got this win in the bag!" said Alibaba.

Tettia stood beneath the hulking Djinn, she knew Aladdin was running out of power. "This is bad!"

When Ugo fell to the floor, Alibaba yelled, "Hey, Aladdin! Are you okay?!"

"No he's not okay… he's running out of power," said Tettia to herself.

Aladdin weakly replied, "I'm fine… we're going to get the treasure, I promise you…! Even if it means using our trump card!" The young Magi blew into the flute again and gave Ugo a power-up essentially.


	6. A Certain Someone's True Identity

**Chapter Six: A Certain Someone's True Identity**

* * *

As Aladdin gave a power-up to Ugo, Rukh began gathering around the Djinn's hands and emitted a red light. Alibaba was amazed at the display, meanwhile, Tettia was terrified. She knew that her young friend was draining a lot of his power as Ugo lunged towards the King Slime. "Aladdin… you'd better okay after this!" exclaimed the red-head companion. Readying for the attack, both the King Slime and Alibaba were blown away by the power of Ugo.

With unmeasurable strength, Ugo bashed in the King Slime's head and made a large hole in the ground. Aladdin fell on his butt on the side opposite of Alibaba and Tettia. While Alibaba got onto the ground and looked at the hole in awe, the half-Fanalis ran over to the young Magi. "That was _awesome_ ~! He even made a huge hole in the ground," he poked some moss. "That slimy freak became moss after that, too! How come you didn't tell me you had a badass move like that? One more second, and I don't know what we would have done. Dude, with you, me and Tettia together, there's no dungeon anywhere that can take us on!" the blond said with a huge grin, punching the air in the process.

Tettia was rubbing Aladdin's back as she sat next to him; looking at Alibaba with softened red-eyes, the young half-Fanalis smiled softly at Alibaba. "Aye! No dungeon will stand in out way," she spoke with enthusiasm.

"Hehe… Ugo's strong, isn't he?" spoke Aladdin, noticeably weakened.

Once Alibaba noticed this, he ran over to Aladdin and Tettia (who was still rubbing the bluenette's back). "Aladdin, you don't look so good…" he stated.

Aladdin feigned surprise. "Really? I guess I used too much power there… it's fine though, if I eat a whole lot and rest a long time, I'll be okay!" exclaimed the young boy with a determined open-mouthed grin.

"I-I see!" exclaimed Alibaba, who took up a seat next to Tettia. He pulled out some food and they all ate; Tettia and himself ate more sparingly than Aladdin. The two, in fact, gave Aladdin more food. "There's still more!" said Alibaba after a few minutes of eating.

Tettia looked over her shoulder at her bluenette friend with a smile and a handful of food. "He's right… there's plenty of food if you want more," she spoke with a concerned look hidden within her smile.

"No, I'm fine, thanks you two…" he said and Tettia's keen hearing noticed the sleepy tone. Aladdin laid down on the ground, mumbling loud enough for his companions to hear, "I'm just going to take a little nap…"

Nodding in an understanding way, Tettia spoke, "That's cool, you go right ahead, Laddin. See you when you wake up."

Alibaba agreed with Tettia. As soon as the young Magi had fallen asleep, he turned his honey-brown orbs towards crimson ones. "Hey, Tettia, am I… pushing Aladdin too much?" he asked in a semi-disheartened tone. "I mean, I thought that things were going pretty well so far, but that monster attack is giving me second thoughts…"

Placing a hand on Alibaba's shoulder, Tettia began, "I don't think you, specifically, are. Laddin puts his friends before himself; risking his life for them. He never really gives his friends chances to show him what their capable of. Take me for instance, I am exceptionally skilled with daggers… and I can hold my own against monsters, except those curve-balls thrown at me in dungeons; however, Aladdin never lets me fight. That boy always wants to be the one to protect people. Long story short, it's not you pushing Laddin too much, he pushes himself too much."

Alibaba looked at Tettia and blinked slowly at her words. "Are you sure?"

Rolling her eyes, she laughed, "Of course I'm sure. Don't you trust me?"

"We should set up a camp if we're going to stay here until Aladdin recuperates," said Alibaba, looking away from Tettia.

Standing up, his red-head friend grunted in response. "Agreed." Then both the blond and red-head made a make-shift camp for themselves and their blue-haired friend. It had not taken them long to make the camp and soon the two sat down again, their backs against a wall. "Well, I think camp looks great, Alibaba," she said, smiling at him.

"I guess," said the blond. A jolt shot through his body when Tettia's head came to rest on his shoulder. Alibaba looked down at her, the slightest sign of a blush painted his cheeks. "Tet?" he questioned, hoping to get a response. Unfortunately for him, he did not get a response. "No way are you asleep already," he exclaimed. In response to his exclamation, Tettia groaned softly and nuzzled Alibaba's shoulder.

Time had passed and Tettia went from having her head on Alibaba's shoulder, to laying her head in his lap. Alibaba had accepted that about thirty minutes ago, he was cleaning his dagger as Tettia and Aladdin slept. Looking in a direction away from the camp, Alibaba was thinking to himself. _It should be fine for us to hang out in this cave for a while, since there's only one entrance, and if I stand guard, that puts us in even better shape. But… I have to get Tettia off of my lap,_ he thought. His honey-brown eyes looked at Aladdin from over his shoulder, eyes zeroing in on the young boy's flute. _That flute sure is troublesome… does it take that much strength to use it?_ Taking the flute into his hands, he continued to think. _I'm still feeling pretty good… maybe I can blow into it instead…?_

The blond brought the flute to his lips and blew into it. There was no response, not even a sound was produced. Confused, Alibaba looked at the flute and questioned why it would always work for Aladdin but not himself. Looking even more closely at the flute, the blond noticed an eight-pointed star and words in an unrecognizable language. "What's this mark? It looks like writing, but what language? Can Aladdin read it? Can Tettia? I'm beginning to wonder just who are they…? And why is he out here without folks…?" muttered Alibaba almost silently to himself.

Feeling rested, Tettia stirred from her sleep. "Hmm…? Did I hear my name…?" she whispered in a groggy, just-woke-up, voice. Placing one hand on Alibaba's thigh, she lifted herself up, the other hand rubbing her eye.

Blushing, Alibaba looked, with wide eyes at the just woken up half-Fanalis. "W-well… umm… I-…" he stuttered adorably.

Tettia noticed Aladdin's flute in her _pillow's_ hand. It hit her and she asked, "Ah! I get it. You tried what I did when I first met Laddin. Tried blowing into it to produce Ugo or even a sound, aye?"

Alibaba nodded slowly. "Yeah… I tried it," he said quietly. He casted his eyes down towards the young bluenette. Something hit him: he knew nothing about these two he called his friends and companions. A small gasp left his lips.

"Just realize how little you know about us? Specifically, Aladdin?" asked Tettia.

"Yeah… you've both been helping me for almost nothing, yet I know nothing of you two and you two know little about me."

Both the blond and red-head leaned back against the wall behind them. "Well, there's not much to know about me. I'm just a half-Fanalis who joined up with Aladdin after he saved my life. I don't have any sad backstory, it's just straightforward. Just me," Tettia said, titling her head back.

Crossing his arms and also leaning his head back, Alibaba replied, "I suppose that we can all have a chat when he gets up… about everything and anything."

"I'm sure he'd like that, Ali. I would too," the half-Fanalis said with a goofy, lopsided grin.

The blond smiled and began dozing off. There was water dripping from the ceiling and when Tettia was certain he was just about to fall asleep, he jolted up. "Water dripping… no, it's following a pattern… oh crap!" he muttered, handing Tettia his overcoat and he began to follow the water.

Filled with determination, the blond disappeared before Tettia could ask him where the hell he was going. "Fucking hell… this idiot. He's kinda cute, though," she spoke to herself.

Crawling through a crevice, Alibaba looked through a hole to see people walking through the dungeon. As soon as his honey-brown eyes glanced at man doing nothing, he immediantly knew who the man was. _I-I know that guy! He's the evil boss of our town…! People have died trying to go diving! Yet, a snob like him just waltzes in?! How did he do it?!_ thought an irritated Alibaba at the sight of Jamil. _That bastard has no problem turning people into his slaves… no one gets off easily for angering him! No, we_ ** _should_** _be fine here… Thank God he hasn't noticed us here,_ he continued to think as he crawled back to the camp.

"You okay, Alibaba?" quietly asked Tettia, knowing something was not right.

Looking over at Aladdin, Alibaba whispered, "His face is looking a lot better. Good… we should be fine with you, Tettia; however, once Aladdin is back in the game, we'll teach that guy a lesson!"

Alibaba's words confused Tettia. Cocking her head to the side, she asked, still quiet, "What guy? Say who and I'll beat the shit ou—" she stopped mid-sentence.

Tettia's sudden stop caught Alibaba off guard and he slowly looked towards the half-Fanalis. "Hmm?" he hummed in a questioning manner. He immediantly noticed that Tettia was on her feet and in a fighting stance, eyes narrowed into a harsh glare. Glancing towards what or who Tettia was glaring at, Alibaba scrambled backwards, sputtering.

The Fanalis slave girl looked at Tettia with harshly narrowed eyes, her eyes darting to Alibaba occasionally. "Why are you here?!" demanded Tettia, reaching for her daggers. Morgiana remained silent as she stared at the two. "Hello?" questioned Tettia, confused at the slave's lack of words.

That was when Jamil showed up. "Oh, so you're here… thanks for the hard work."

Alibaba looked terrified. "Craaaaaaaaaaaaaap! He found us!" he whisper-yelled.

Tettia looked at Morgiana, then to Jamil. She wanted to say something, but chose not to; withdrawing her hands from her daggers, she let them fall to her sides. Looking over at Alibaba, she silently asked him what he would do.

Noticing Tettia's eyes on his form, Alibaba stopped mentally panicking and thought of something. "Ahh~ sir! We're saved! You're our boss, aren't you?! We're from the city too… but, we got lost in this dungeon while playing! What's worse, my little bro got a fever…!"

 _YOU'RE KIDDING ME?!_ Tettia yelled mentally as she fell over from shock. She could have taken Jamil, no problem, it was the Fanalis and the other man she was unsure of.

"W-well, let's go…" said Alibaba weakly. Jamil and his slaves walked towards the blond, giving him hope, but they passed him. _They passed me!_ he thought as he looked back at them.

Tettia noticed that they were walking towards Aladdin. Immediantly, she shot off of the floor and stood in front of the sleeping Magi. "Hurt him and I'll kill you all," she growled threateningly. Alibaba sat and looked over his shoulder in surprise.

"As if we would hurt him. I've been waiting for this young Magi… for ten long years… and now, you've appeared before me…" Jamil said, getting on one knee, placing his right hand over his heart. A sign of respect.

 _Magi… what? Those three know each other…?_ thought Alibaba as he looked at the people beside the young bluenette. He stood up, still looking towards the sleeping Magi.

Jamil tried to get around Tettia to get closer to Aladdin, but she would not allow it. "Hey… how is he feeling?" he asked the sleeping Aladdin. When he only got Tettia's death-threat growls as a response, he signaled for someone, saying, "Goltas!"

The large male slave stepped forward, towards Aladdin, going to grab the young boy. Before Goltas could touch Aladdin, Tettia grabbed the man's wrist in a death-grip. "I don't think so. If _anyone_ is going to be touching him, it's gonna be _me_. _Understood_?" she said in a low voice, threatening voice.

Goltas picked up Tettia, tossed her to Alibaba, and picked up Aladdin. Alibaba caught Tettia, holding her bridal-style. "Excuse me! What do think you're doing?!" Tettia exclaimed, flailing her arms in the arm as they began to walk off from the two.

"W-wait!" yelled Alibaba, who was still holding Tettia.

Jamil ignored Tettia's exclamation and continued to walk away, laughing and carrying on with this slaves. Putting Tettia down, both she and Alibaba ran off after the slave owner. Jumping in front of them, the two said, "At least take us too!"

"And when are you going to answer me, huh, boy?! I asked you what do you think you're doing here!" yelled Tettia.

Jamil, Morgiana, and Goltas remained silent for a few moments. Pointing at the two, Jamil broke the silence, "I could ask the same thing of you two."

"Fucking 'scuse me?" questioned Tettia.

"Huh?" Alibaba asked.

Jamil continued, "Why are you two kiddos following me? What is it that you two need?"

Tettia rolled her eyes and groaned, "That Magi can here with me and him. I'm not asking you not to take him… I'm _telling_ you not to take him."

That caused Jamil to laugh. "You're saying he's with the two of you? Ha ha ha! Listen up… You, boy, are just an average Joe; and you, girlie, are just a Fanalis wannabe. I'll admit, it's pretty brave of you both to be in a place like this, and talking to me so familiarly… but, you're both not needed here, so get lost," spoke Jamil cruelly as he walked by the two.

"I SAID WAIT, DAMMIT!" yelled both of Aladdin's companions, both grabbing one of Jamil's shoulders. Tettia's grip was almost that of a death-grip.

With cold, emotionless eyes, Jamil looked at the two. "You two said… _'wait dammit'_ …?! Apparently you both don't know your place, as human trash… kill them, Goltas," he demanded.

Goltas handed the sleeping Aladdin off to Morgiana and loomed over the two dangerously. "Kill…?" said Alibaba in a terrified manner. Tettia just stood her ground. "Hey, wait big guy… we were just kidding…!"

 _I wasn't kidding. Like hell will I just let this fucking scum walk off with Aladdin!_ angrily thought Tettia. Goltas gripped his sword as he raised it just to strike at the two. Alibaba and Tettia swiftly dodged the attack and both held a dagger to Goltas's throat. "The fuck do you think _you're_ doing all of the sudden, huh?!" exclaimed Tettia, holding her dagger closer to Goltas's throat than Alibaba was. Her full intent was to kill the large slave.

Morgiana, Jamil and Goltas were all surprised at their actions. Alibaba stepped aside, holding his dagger to Goltas's side; Tettia held the arm Goltas was holding his sword in behind his back, her dagger still dangerously close to the slave's throat. Her usually softer red eyes were narrowed to a fine point, staring determinedly at the slave owner. Jamil started to clap. "That's amazing! I thought you two as nothing but snot-nosed kids… but you both have some amazing moves," he exclaimed happily, stepping towards them.

"Ha ha ha h…?" Alibaba sweatdropped.

It was then that Jamil sheathed his sword in Goltas's stomach. Tettia lowered her dagger and looked at Jamil's sword, disgust written across her facial expressions. Alibaba also looked on in disgust and confusion. "Which makes you useless…" he began, referring to Goltas, beginning to stab the hulking male in the stomach. "Your job is to work for me… if you can't even do that much, you become an existence lower than trash. I guess this just means I have to punish you… but how? Maybe like this? Or this?"

Tettia let go of Goltas, holding her hand over her mouth, to prevent herself from letting out terrified gasps. Alibaba had fallen to the ground, unable to deal with what was happening. Both of them looked at each other, their eyes yelling: _What is he…?! He's not normal at all!_

"Hey there… how about you two take his place? Since you're both so handy, I'll put you two to work. You'll both walk in front of me and make sure there are no traps. If you're both willing to do that, I'll take you along. So, how about it?" Jamil suggested, narrowing his eyes dangerously at them. "If you're going to remain in my sight… Answer!"

"I'll do it," answered Tettia, not missing a beat. She stood beside Jamil, holding a hand out for Alibaba to grab. "C'mon, for our friend."

Alibaba was still on the ground, looking at them in a terrified expression. Having a mental debate with himself, he chose to take Tettia's hand. The female pulled him off of the ground and the two shared a smile.

Alibaba and Tettia were walking in front of Jamil, Morgiana, and Goltas (who was holding Aladdin again). In one of the blond's hands was a lantern. "Ah, this is great! I brought my slaves along with me, but then the exit went and disappeared! This sure is convenient!" spoke Jamil. Tettia bit her tongue. She and Alibaba just had to find a way to get Aladdin away from those pricks and then they would be gone. Jamil got his greedy palms on Aladdin's flute and blew into it. "What's with this flute… it doesn't make any sound… we wouldn't want its owner to lose this while he's sleeping. So maybe I should hold onto it," he said with a smug look on his face.

Tettia growled and whipped her head back to glare at Jamil. She tried to grab the flute away from him, only to have Morgiana slap them away, glaring back at her. "Grr… I should be the one holding that flute, boy!" she growled.

"Nope, I think I am more worthy to carry this flute than a piece of trash like you," Jamil retorted.

Tettia growled, rolled her eyes and looked forward again. She turned her gaze to Alibaba, who was looking back at Jamil as well. "Don't worry…" she whispered to Alibaba, "everything will get better…"

He smiled softly at Tettia. "I know… after all, you're here and you're a Fanalis…" he whispered back.

As the continued walking, Tettia and Alibaba noticed a difference. There appeared to be candlesticks along the walls. "There are candlesticks here?" whispered Tettia to Alibaba.

Looking down, Alibaba added, "When did the rocks beneath us become brick? That only started just now, right?"

"Aye," answered Tettia.

Behind them, Jamil said, "Hmm, seems the dungeon is changing?" Then the group walked into another room. "Woow!" called Jamil. "Now this is what a dungeon should look like!" They were in a large room with elegant arches and a dragon-head gate opened up into a corridor. "And I'm positive that the _treasure chest_ is waiting beyond this gate. Well, treasure collection is a hobby of mine… well, well… what's written here, I wonder… it appears to be an ancient language… hm? And this would have to be…" he said, touching a slab. "The language of Tran…"

"Language of Tran? I hear there are a few tribes down south that use that language…" Alibaba said.

Both Tettia and Jamil look at the blond in amazement. Jamil handed him a small handful of money. "Wow, you are amazing! I didn't think plebeians could read such a complex language! You little rascal!" exclaimed Jamil.

Tettia crossed her arms, eying Alibaba with utmost respect and interest. "My goodness… look at you… being all knowledgable and shit…" she said, whispering a little aside to herself, "…and somehow just became _that_ much more attractive to me…"

Alibaba rubbed the back of his neck, laughing at the two's praise. "Eh, I know a little… I guess! Ahahah!"

Jamil looked at the tablet, trying to read the language. "Hmm… my teacher showed me a little bit of the language of Tran… hmm… the translations of this would be: _This path, down into the truth of the dragon…_?"

Tettia knew, despite not being able to read the language, that the slave owner was translating it all sorts of wrong. Her crimson eyes darted to Alibaba, and they shared a look. _This guys is a fucking idiot_ is what their shared gazes spoke to one another. Alibaba sighed, " _To reach the truth, overcome the dragon's fangs and find everything to behold at the dragon's tail._ I think that's it, right?"

Jamil stabbed Alibaba in the arm with his sword. "I was about to say that," he coldly remarked, "Plebeian, don't get in my way again."

The blond fell to the floor and Tettia was there to help him, she tore a bit of fabric of her skirt and wrapped his wound. Sure the wound was not very serious, but if let open, it could get infected. She glared harshly at the back of Jamil's head. "Dammit, he's just going to do whatever he wants! But mark my words… I'm not just some nobody!" he whisper-yelled loud enough for Tettia to hear him.

She snickered and helped him up and they continued walking in front of Jamil. Bad news, they finally came across a trap. "Pig… what's this?" Tettia asked, glaring at the trap.

"Haha, looks like we've come across a trap this time. It's your time to shine, kiddos!" exclaimed Jamil. The trap was a cliché spiked ceiling trap.

Both Tettia and Alibaba stepped forward. They looked at one another. "A trap is it… geez, that ceiling could tear a guy apart. Those holes in the floor look kind of suspicious too. Don't think I can just jump past them," he whispered to Tettia.

" _Kinda_ suspicious…?" she whispered in response as they looked down the corridor with skeletons strewn on the ground. From when they were skewered alive.

The blond laughed, "True. Anyways…"

"… there's no such thing as a road too far of too dangerous for treasure!" the two said as they exclaimed as they ran down the hallway. The ceiling began to fall and Jamil and his slaves looked on at the two will awe. The two companions dodged the spikes as the ceiling fell.

"Whoa! They're fast! Are they training for the Olympics?" asked Jamil to himself.

"If we can't plow through, we'll dodge!" Tettia said with a smile directed towards Alibaba. He smiled back, then the two turned their attentions back to the falling ceiling. After several dodging, the two ended up on the other side of the hallway, Tettia falling back-first into Alibaba — he basically catching her.

Jamil looked on in awe as well as intrigue. "They got to the goal!"

Tettia wiped some sweat from her brow as her and the blond behind her said, "Wah… we did it!" Just as they thought they were safe, the floor opened up. "FUCK!" they both yelled as they fell.

"This is how it ends! I don't want to die like this! I refuse to go out without at _least_ one kiss," she exclaimed, pulling Alibaba close to herself by his rope necklace as they fell. Their faces got closer and closer together until their lips brushed against each others. Somehow it was quite passionate for the brief lip-lock that it was.

Jamil and his slaves walked off. "Morgiana, how did you know where the trap door was?" he asked.

Morgiana said in an emotionless voice, "Because the smell of death was emitting from there."

"Oooh~! Well, even though, they did a good job up until then… I knew I could rely on you guys more than them!" said Jamil as pet Morgiana. It was then that Aladdin finally stirred from his slumber. "Oh, you're awake?"


	7. Sabotage in the Necropolis!

**Chapter Seven: Sabotage in the Necropolis!**

* * *

As the fate of Alibaba and Tettia remained unknown, Aladdin was conversing with the enemy, not knowing what he did to his friends. "Oh! So I fainted and you picked me up, did you? Where are my friends? Um… s—? B—? B…" spoke Aladdin. He was at a loss as to what to call the slave owner. "Boss? Or sir?"

Jamil smiled stupidly and pointed to himself. "Boss. I'm the head of Chishan, Jamil! My job is to ensure the city is safe for all of its citizens… so, in short, I save people! Considering my position, I couldn't very well ignore you when you needed help, could I? As for your friends, I sent them ahead. No need to worry, though, I personally made sure that they were absolutely safe," the greedy slave owner lied cunningly.

"I-… I see," said Aladdin.

"Anyway, we can look for them later. For now, let's find the exit of this place," said Jamil, ready to get out of the dungeon. He had what he wanted, there was no point in remaining in that dank, dangerous dungeon.

Aladdin looked over at Morgiana and she looked down at him, they looked at each other in silence. Morgiana then walked in front of Jamil and Aladdin, coming to walk along side Goltas, who was out in front to again scope out any traps. Aladdin remained silent as the shackles around both slaves' feet clattered against the ground.

"Are you concerned with these two? They're my slaves," Jamil said simply and with a smile, "The big guy is Goltas. He came from a nomadic tribe from the north… even if he gets hurt, he doesn't make a sound, but he's extremely reliable. The small girl is Morgiana, she hails from the _continent of darkness,_ where the descendants of a hunting tribe once dwelled! She's got a great sense of smell, and a fairly sturdy body. They were both _super_ expensive, but really worth it!"

"Oh…" quietly said Aladdin. _You disgusting scum of the world! You deserve death! Nobody deserves to be a slave to a master so sour as yourself!_ Tettia's angry voice rang out in Aladdin's mind as he looked at the two slaves. The bluenette knew Tettia hated people who took other people's human rights away. Everyone was human and deserved to be treated as such. If someone were to treat another human as any less around Tettia, she would beat the snot out of that person.

Jamil gasped, "Oh! How about you let me see your slave? You know, the big guy in the flute? I tried to before, but your friends insisted I didn't… in fact, that girl — who came from the same place Morgiana did — tried grabbing it from me. Morgiana slapped her hands away, I won't be touched by a plebeian."

"Ugo isn't my slave, but my friend," said Aladdin almost coldly.

Smiling, Jamil said, "I see!" Putting his hands behind his back, he continued, "Well, more importantly, we should continued down this dungeon… since we're close to the end. We managed to find the right path while you were asleep, so let's find the treasure together."

Aladdin nodded slightly. "Kay… but, sir? Are Alibaba and Tettia… really going to meet us there?" asked the young worried Magi.

Lying through his teeth, with a shit-eating grin, Jamil said, "Sure they are!" As they walked, Aladdin glared at the older man. They eventually came to a three-way fork in the road. Stepping out in front of the slaves and young Magi, Jamil combed a hand through his hair. "Oh my… there are three entrances here, aren't there…? So does this mean the dragon has three esophagi?"

Jamil thought to himself. How should he proceed? Alibaba did not give him a translation for this, and seeing as both the blond and red-head were _dead_ , he had no idea what to do. It hit him. "Everyone! I have deemed the path ahead of us as dangerous! Hence, as the leader, I'll go scout out the safest path! Women and children should wait here for us," he said, feigning courage. As he and Goltas walked off, he whispered to Morgiana. "So, take good care of him, Morgiana."

"Ow, why did you have to land on me with such force? I'm still hurting," complained Alibaba, rubbing his lower back.

Tettia rolled her eyes and said playfully, "Shut it, would you, you goof? It's not like I weigh _that_ much. Plus, you and I _both_ know we didn't exactly plan to live through that fall!"

"True…" he mumbled, "… but I still wonder why you kissed me…"

Becoming flustered, Tettia looked away from him. "I-I thought I was gonna die, man! I didn't want to die a _fully_ innocent maiden!"

That comment had Alibaba blushing, he looked at the half-Fanalis and gasped, "A-are you telling me that was you _first_ kiss?!"

She pouted, crossing her arms as they walked. "N-no! O-of course not!" she stuttered.

"Of course it wasn't…" said Alibaba, rolling his eyes with a playful grin. "Well, I'm flattered."

Tettia squeaked quietly. He did not need to know if that was her first kiss or not. Alibaba opened his mouth to say something else, when Tettia heard Aladdin. Immediately, she slapped her hands over the blond's mouth. "Shhh… hear that?" she softly asked.

"Hmm?" asked Alibaba.

Tettia pointed forward as she heard Aladdin say, "Miss, what I'm beginning to think is that he has you chained down with invisible cuffs…"

"There's something you should know…" began a female's voice, "I'll tell you this, just so you understand… do not belittle the leader, or else you'll end up like your friends."

Aladdin asked, "Wha? What's that?"

Alibaba and Tettia neared the direction of the voices as the female voice continued, "Your friends… they… the leader left them in a trap… so your friends are… your friends are… they've been left to die!"

Gasping, Aladdin could not believe what the female had said. That was until he heard shuffling above him, the young Magi whipped his head around… only to see Alibaba and Tettia's heads poking out of a window-like structure above him and the slave girl.

Alibaba had a blank face, waving down at Aladdin; meanwhile, Tettia waved both her hands in the air, mouthing a loud _Hello_ at the young Magi. One could tell that she was overjoyed to see her blue-haired friend once again. In fact, Tettia almost fell out of the window as she waved happily at her friend, Alibaba had to grab her waist, just so she would not fall out.

"Tettia… what are you doing?! Calm yourself," whisper-yelled Alibaba.

That statement did anything but calm down the half-Fanalis. "Make me, pretty boy," she whisper-yelled back.

"How? By kissing you again?!"

"N-no! Also, how the fuck would that _calm me down_?!" whisper-yelled a blushing Tettia, wiggling around, trying to get Alibaba's arm off her waist.

His grip around her waist tightened as half her upper body was hanging out of the window. "I don't know! How do I calm you down?!"

"You don't, Ali! You don't just _calm me down_!" they argued in whisper-yells.

Tettia and Alibaba's antics almost had Aladdin in laughter, if it had not been the shock factor of their sudden reappearance just as Morgiana proclaimed that they had been left for dead. "Your friends… they're dead now…" finished the slave.

Aladdin looked at Morgiana and then back up at his friends. "Huh? But um… _really_?"

Morgiana's face contorted in some kind of emotion. Sympathy, perhaps? "They didn't know their place, so the leader abandoned them there on a whim…! You're the same, if you don't watch out and learn your place… you'll dipph!" she exclaimed as Aladdin threw stuff over her face. She quickly uncovered her face and Aladdin was gone. She was going to be in so much trouble.

"I don't think so, Miss!" came Aladdin's voice from above Morgiana. She looked up and her eyes widened in surprise. Tettia, Alibaba and Aladdin were on the bluenette's magic turban.

"Sorry about this, but… umm… we gotta go! Hopefully we'll be seeing you again soon," Tettia said with a grin and a wave.

Aladdin smiled, "Yeah! Hopefully we do meet soon so I can cut those invisible chains… and together we can go travel to that place of the beautiful sun!"

Morgiana was not having any of that. Glaring up at the three friend, she angrily stomped her foot, her strong legs breaking the ground underneath her foot. "I already told you what the life of a slave is, but you still act ignorant!" she said, poison seeping through her words.

Both Tettia and Alibaba's face became worried. "Whoa now!" they exclaimed. As they exclaimed that, the slave began running up the wall.

"THIS ISN'T FAIR! GET DOWN! BEGONE YE DEMON!" screamed Tettia, her and Alibaba holding onto Aladdin.

Alibaba had terrified tears in the corner of his eyes as he exclaimed, "Let's go up, Aladdin!"

"Agreed!" yelled Tettia.

They went up and Morgiana exclaimed, reaching out to grab the turban, "Wait!" She did not grab the turban. "Dammit," she said to herself.

Aladdin, Tettia and Alibaba ran off. "Waaah! Alibaba! Tet! You're still alive! How did you two do it! Uh… you're kind of bleeding~" exclaimed an excited Aladdin as he ran in between the two, flailing his arm, hitting the two.

They were both in mild pain and discomfort. "Ahaha… yeah, that really hurts, so don't touch me, m'kay?" Alibaba said with a look of discomfort.

"Yeah… I'm kinda in pain too," Tettia said. "Also, we'll explain everything later! But c'mon! We found something awesome!"

They all ran and eventually, Aladdin had to whip out his magic turban again and they floated down to a large door. "What's this door?" Aladdin asked.

"When we fell down that hole, we made our way through passages and found ourselves here. We think this is the door of _Truth_ , but we can't get it open," explained Tettia.

Aladdin looked at his two friends. "I know what to do…"

"Sweet!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Looking at his hands, Aladdin began to say, "It's the same as when Ugo and I were together in the Room of Fortitude… the door was the same as this… I remember what I had to do to open it back then… Let's see… I think the words were… ummm…" The bluenette put his hands against the door and Rukh fluttered around his hands.

"Look! Light birds!" exclaimed Tettia, smiling stupidly and nudging Alibaba. They both shared a laugh.

"OOPEEEEEEEEN~ SESAME!" exclaimed their young Magi companion. The door began to open and both Alibaba and Tettia were amazed.

Tettia gasped and laughed, "Best trick ever!"

Alibaba was more shocked than amazed. How could a little kid open such a large door? A large gust of wind accompanied the opening of the door as it continued to open on its own. _Awesome… this is just awesome! This is it… I cal feel the treasure box from here! Finally, I'll have my own mountain of riches! Gold, diamond, emeralds! They're all waiting for me! I'm coming my beautiful, beautiful treasures!_ An excited Alibaba thought to himself as he began to run through the door.

Through the door, was nothing more than an expansive open room. The three coughed as they walked through dust or something moving in clouds in the air. "What's this…" the blond began.

"It's all just freaking open space…" said a disappointed Tettia.

The blond looked ahead of them, "Is this wrong…? Wha?" Something materialized in front of them. "Hey, it looks like we found something…" Alibaba continued. Tettia grabbed his arm, causing him to look down, for some reason. Beneath his foot was a seemingly bottomless pit. The blond sweatdropped. "Thanks for stopping me, Tettia…"

"No problem… I can't have you go dying on me. You have responsibilities now," she said with a grin, sticking her tongue out at him.

Aladdin looked over at Tettia and cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean he has _responsibilities_ now, Tet? Did something happen between you two while I was out?"

Tettia looked at Aladdin with a smile. " _Welp,_ I guess you can say that. Nothing really happened though," she explained.

"But something happened, didn't it? I can tell you're lying to me, Tet!"

Blushing again, Tettia said, "I-I'm not lying to you, Laddin! Wh-why would I lie to you?"

Narrowing his blue eyes, Aladdin said, "Then. tell. me. what. happened."

"F-fine! I kissed Alibaba thinking we were going to die! That's all that happened!" she exclaimed, covering her face.

"WHAT?!" gasped Aladdin, "You finally made the first move?!"

Alibaba fell over, his face erupted into a blush. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"It's supposed to mean that I was waiting for Tet to m—" the young Magi was silenced by Tettia's hands clasping over his mouth.

" _NOTHING_! IT IS **_NOTHING_**!" yelled Tettia. "Anyways, look! It's not a bottomless pit after all! It's an underground city!"

They all looked on in amazement. Tettia's hands fell away from Aladdin's mouth as all their jaws dropped and their eyes went wide with amazement. "Whoa…" Tettia said.

"Awesome!" said Alibaba and Aladdin.

Putting one hand on her hip, Tettia spoke, "It doesn't look like there are any treasures here… but we have stumbled on the resting place of an ancient society!"

Smiling, the blond exclaimed to both his companions, "Hey, let's go and have a look! There's got to be treasures in that city that we can't see from here! Lets make that huge tower there our first stop!"

"Okay!" said the two other companions in bubbly tones.

They walked through the streets of the abandoned city. "This place is awesome!" exclaimed the female half-Fanalis.

Aladdin looked over at Tettia with a huge grin. "Yeah!"

Tettia snickered and whispered to Alibaba, "We could find a little place to sneak off to if you wanna~"

The blond almost choked on his own spit at her statement. "What?!"

"You heard what I said~ Maybe we should go find an abandoned house and have some fun~" Tettia teased with a little something hidden behind her goofy grin.

Shaking his head, blushing once again, Alibaba said, "N-not now!"

"Oooh~ so later then, huh?" continued Tettia to tease the blond.

Aladdin looked at his two friends and laughed. "Might as well do it, Alibaba. It won't kill you!"

"Thank you, Laddin! Soooo~" said Tettia in a sing-song voice, rocking back and forth on her heels, "What do ya say?"

The blond's blush got worse. "Oh my god! Fine! After we finish this dungeon!"

Tettia laughed, "Sweet, if we wait, we can just go to a pleasure house!"

Alibaba ran a hand through his hair, the blush virtually gone from his face. _This girl is gonna kill me! She can't tease me like that!_ he thought to himself. "A-anyways! We should totally call this place Alibaba Park! After all, I'm the guy who discovered this city, right?"

"Pfft! HAHAHAHA! There's somewhere else you can call _Alibaba Park_ …" the half-Fanalis said with a snicker.

Aladdin laughed, not truly understanding what she had meant with her words. Apparently, though, Alibaba did and his face for the umpteenth time was as red as an apple. Then, Alibaba thought of a trump card, something that she could not twist around to be a dirty thought. "No, wait! Since the three of us found this play, it should be called _AliTiaDin Park_! I'll be the mayor, Aladdin: you and Tettia are the vice mayors!"

"Yaay! That's great!" exclaimed Aladdin.

"You'll always be the one and only mayor of _Alibaba Park_ , Ali~" she said with a wink.

 _Fuck! How can she still be doing that?!_ thought Alibaba to himself. They continued to walk through the streets. "Oh yeah, Aladdin… if you're worried about your flute, don't be! It's my fault that slimy bastard stole it…" Alibaba said, smiling at Aladdin.

"You know that's not true, Ali! It's my fault that Jamil took Laddin's flute! I didn't grab it," Tettia said.

"Well, don't sweat it… we're definitely going to get it back!" Alibaba said with determination.

Tettia clapped her hands together, "Aye! We will get it back! It'll be okay though, this city's gotta have a _treasure chest_ somewhere…"

"And I'm sure that in the chest is a _Djinn Container_ …! And where there's a container, there's a _Djinn_!" exclaimed the blond with a grin.

The young blue-haired Magi smiled gently at his two companions, "Yeah! Definitely! I believe that you two will get it back!"

As the trio continued to walk through the streets of the desolate city, Alibaba continuously was talking as Tettia kept conversations going with him. He was severely nervous because of the silent atmosphere of the city and he was pretty sure that if he went quiet, he would be that much more anxious. The blond was happy to have Tettia continuously talking with him as he continued rambling. "… but in all seriousness, I wonder what all of this is~?" he asked in a chipper tone.

A laugh came from the half-Fanalis. "You sure are talkative, Ali. But, true. I wonder what era this city come from? I've never heard of this before. Uhh… a city like this sleeping in a dungeon," she wondered, placing a hand on her chin as they continued walking.

"A necropolis…" spoke Aladdin.

Both the blond and red-head turned their heads to look down at their blue-eyed companion. "Huh?" they questioned.

Aladdin continued to speak, enlightening his comrades, "A long time ago, Ugo told me all about it. He said that the outside of the _Room of Fortitude,_ there are ghost civilizations known as necropolis."

Gasping in realization, Tettia spoke, "Ooooh! So _that's_ what it is… thanks for clearing that us for us, Laddin!" Her lips curled into a sweet smile as she glanced down at the young boy she loved like a younger brother.

Alibaba was also grateful for the explanation, but there was something that bothered him. "Hey, wait a minute… you've mentioned that _Room of Fortitude_ before… what is it? Is it like a _dungeon_? Since the doors are the same after all…" asked a curious Alibaba.

"Aye! I've been curious about that, myself. I just never wanted to pry," agreed Tettia. She really did always want to know more about Aladdin's life before they met, but the half-Fanalis never knew how to bring up the questions she harbored.

Aladdin looked up as he answered them, "Well… I don't really know. It was much more confined there… and Ugo would always tell me that we could never leave."

Ruffling the boy's blue hair through his turban, Tettia chuckled, "I'm glad you did, though! Other wise, I woulda never met ya, Laddin!"

Aladdin laughed, "Yeah! I'm glad we left, too! Life would have been boring without you, Tet!"

Placing a hand over her heart, Tettia sighed happily, "Awww~ thank you, Laddin! Life woulda been boring without meeting you too!" Then she picked up the young Magi in a huge hug as they walked.

The blond was confused. Ugo could talk? As Tettia put Aladdin down, he spoke, "Hmm… on that not, I had no idea that big dude could talk."

Looking up at Alibaba with a cute expression, Aladdin said quickly, "He can! Ugo's body is the only part of him that can escape, but… but he has a face and everything! He's really handsome too!"

"Heh, bragging are we?" retorted Alibaba and Tettia with grins.

A cute little laugh came from Aladdin as he said, "Yeah! I'm so proud that he's my friend!"

Tettia gushed over Aladdin's cuteness and scoped him up in her arms, nuzzling her cheek against his. "I love you, Laddin! You're too cute for me!"

More laughing came from Aladdin as he and Tettia nuzzled one another. Alibaba shook his head, chuckling a bit. "You did say you and Ugo were buddies. Hey, after we get out of this dungeon, do you think you could introduce me to him? I'd like to know more about you and Tettia too!"

The half-Fanalis stopped nuzzling the young bluenette and they both looked at Alibaba briefly before smiling at him. "Sure! That's fine," replied Aladdin. "Could you put me down now, Tet?"

"Of course," she said, putting him down. The trio continued forwards towards the large door in front of them. "We made it!"

Alibaba pointed to the door. "Aladdin, the honor is all yours!" Aladdin nodded and stepped up to the door and proceeded to open the door. _So our dungeon diving expedition has come to an end… I've bet everything on finding a treasure in this dungeon! And now, with my own eyes, I'll bear witness to it!_ Thought Alibaba to himself as the door was opened.

"What is this?" asked Tettia as they walked into the room. Her expression fell and she slumped her shoulders.

Alibaba was just as confused and disheartened as she was. "It's not really a treasure chest… but a _shortage room_?"

The trio began looking through the objects. "Hey Aladdin, Tettia, did you find anything~?" asked Alibaba as he solemnly looked at the objects.

"Nope, nothing," said Tettia.

"Just lots of rocks and trinkets," said Aladdin as he held some of said trinkets.

Tettia sighed, "Yeah… seems like this place isn't a treasure chest after all…"

Alibaba was done with it and pointed somewhere else. "Eh, no helpin' it! There are a lot of other buildings out there… so let's go outside and try our luck somewhere else," he said.

Aladdin and Tettia put down the trinkets that they were holding and agreed with him. "Okay!" they said.

With that being said, the trio began to walk out of the building and Alibaba bumped into something. Turned out that the _thing_ the blond had bumped into was Goltas. The trio became visibly distraught. "Shhhhhhiiiiiitttttt!" exclaimed Tettia.

Alibaba yelled and jumped into a battle stance, reaching for his knife. Tettia also sprang into battle stance, reaching from her daggers. "Dammit! It's on, bastard!" exclaimed Alibaba.

"Round two!" exclaimed Tettia.

Aladdin stepped in front of his two battle-ready companions. "Wait, Tet, Alibaba!" he said, "He's already…" Goltas looked down at the trio and then he fell forwards. Aladdin kneeled down beside the hulking giant. "This is terrible, he's still got burns from before…"

Alibaba and Tettia had drawn their weapons, not trusting the giant. "But most importantly, he got a huge slash on the side of his back," said Tettia, noticing the large slash.

Something was coming towards the young Magi. "ALADDIN!" screamed Tettia as she tried to jump into front of the young Magi, to take the hit for him.

Unfortunately, Tettia had not reacted fast enough and the kick hit Aladdin. "Tet!" exclaimed Aladdin as he went flying into the distance.

Alibaba narrowed his eyes and readied his knife. "Bastards…"

Jamil was not happy, seething in anger, he said, "Peons, eh… who do you both think you're talking to…"

Tettia growled dangerously, "It doesn't matter if you're the boss the we're the servants anymore! You're a damned thief! First off, give us back Laddin's flute!"

"Yeah! We can talk things over after that!" finished Alibaba.

They were both serious, they wanted to get Aladdin's flute back. The flute was rightfully Aladdin's and Tettia would be damned if she was going to allow a filthy scum of earth continue to hold onto it.

The slave owner was still pissed. "Peons… talking to me…? D-don't make me laugh… you weak… vulgar… fools… you're both no more than a waste of air, pieces of trash…" he said dangerously low.

"Excuse me?" Tettia growled. She knew that she could be more dangerous than a lowly man who made his slaves do everything. "Wanna run that by me again?!"

 _What's his deal… he's acting weird_ , Alibaba thought to himself, staying in his battle-ready stance. His gaze turned towards Aladdin, who was still going. "How hard was that kick?!" he whisper-yelled to himself. Just as he said that, Morgiana ran after Aladdin; surprisingly, Tettia did not run after him, though she desperately wanted to (she decided it was best to help Alibaba since she knew Aladdin could take care of himself). "Wait a damn minute!" he exclaimed as he moved to follow Morgiana.

Jamil cut him off as he glared at him and Tettia. "I've got a list of grievances to administer punishment for…"

Tettia laughed dangerously, her voice still dropped into the dangerous zone. " _Punishment_? You dealing out a _punishment_ to me…? Ha! That's an empty threat, boy," she taunted.

The look on Jamil's face transitioned to one of both anger and terror. "Yes! What were those monsters?! Why were they here… why did this happen… what did I do to deserve this?! It's all… it's all both of you's fault!" he exclaimed, shuddering with terror as he pointed his sword at the two.

Tettia's tense shoulders relaxed and slumped down at his ridiculous question. "What did you do to deserve this? Why, everything, you lowly flea! You buy and sell people, taking away their humanity; you get off on causing as much pain and suffering as you can onto the humans you call your slaves; you care only for the materialistic aspect of life. _What did I do to deserve this_ ; that question doesn't even need to be asked in the first place. You're the personification of greed itself, that's why you are getting what you deserve. Also, can you care to explain why this is our fault? When, obviously, it is of nobody else's fault but your own. Jamil, you arrogantly paraded in here thinking that this dungeon would be easy because of what fact…? Oh yes: the fact that you had your slaves do all your dirty work. Dungeon diving is hard, and here you expected it to be a breeze. This is _your_ fault, don't pin this on anyone but yourself," she said calmly, yet hints of anger and hatred seeped through her words.

Alibaba stood dumfounded, looking at Tettia. She just told Jamil off with no hesitation. Even before Jamil was sniveling like a baby, how could Tettia remain unfazed by him and show him the contempt he deserved? Smirking to himself, Alibaba decided that he did not care either. Tauntingly, he spoke, "I can see you wetting your pants from here, Sir Fearless Leader."

"Oh! Wow, Ali, you're right! Totally a pants-wetter. Can't deal with the challenges the dungeon threw at him so he decided to whine, cry and blame his utter lack of skills on others," Tettia said, snickering from behind her left hand, which was still brandishing a dagger.

The slave owner was not happy with their teases and taunts. Alibaba got serious as he said, "But… I've been saying all along, this is a dungeon: status, lineage, and your name… don't matter one damn bit! This is a place where you put everything, including your life, on the line! A place that strains life! If you're scared… go cry a river in your damn house, little man!" As he spoke, the blond got into a readied stance, like a snake waiting for its prey.

The serious expression and glare at Alibaba directed towards Jamil took Tettia by surprise. She gasped, not ready for the blond's sudden seriousness. "Damn…" she muttered, then gushed, "Ali, you're so attractive when you're serious! Like, holy mother of fuck, remind me to make you serious more often now!"

Alibaba's seriousness wavered for a moment as he felt his face heat up at the compliment. "N-not now, Tet! Don't say something like that _now of all times_!"

"Sorry! Go back to serious mode! I'll go get Aladdin," she said, waving her hand in front of her face, blushing.

The blond glanced at his red-head friend and nodded. "Yeah, okay. You go make sure _she_ doesn't get Aladdin," he said.

Tettia made a small sound of agreement before she ran off. "LADDIN! I'M COMING FOR YOU!" she screamed, sprinting off.

"Enough… shut up! Peons like you two… never make a lick of sense!" called an angered Jamil as he got into a weak excuse of a battle stance. He thought that Alibaba would stand no chance against his knowledge and skill in Royal Swordplay; and took some time to decide where he was going to try and strike the enemy before him. The dark haired slave owner thought it more fun to watch Alibaba suffer before his death. "… First is… your leg!" he exclaimed as he lunged towards Alibaba.

Without much trouble, Alibaba skillfully dodged the sloppy attack. Jamil being the stubborn brat that he was, said with a laugh, "Nice work getting lucky just now… I'll say, I'm impressed, but… how will you deal with _this_?" He lunged upwards, and Alibaba once again, skillfully dodged the attack. Now Jamil was unsure what to do.

"Is that all? Boss?" taunted Alibaba. In response to the taunting, Jamil thrusted his sword forward again; however, the blond skillfully deflected it with his knife.

The blond continued to skillfully dodge the attacks thrown at him. That cause Jamil to become even more annoyed than he already was. "Why… why is it…" he stuttered as he once again, thrusted his sword towards Alibaba.

Alibaba deflected the sword and got close to Jamil, his knife to his side. "You know… your side is open," he said as he cut Jamil. "Hey now…" the blond continued, lunging his knife towards the places on Jamil's body that were left open, "Your neck, shoulder, elbow…"

"I can't keep up! My teacher never taught me this!" yelled Jamil, who did not know how to deflect the young blond's knife.

Finally, Alibaba's knife found its point pressed against Jamil's throat. The blond was holding the dark-haired slave owner's sword out of the way, so it would not harm himself. "I give you an _F_ for failure… little man!" said Alibaba as he removed his knife from his throat.

Jamil stumbled back, terrified. The swordplay Alibaba had just used was not practice, it was the real deal. Holding his throat, the man looked at Alibaba with wide eyes. He could not comprehend how a so-called _plebeian_ like the blond would know how to fight in royal swordplay and how to read the language of Tran. Meanwhile, the blond's honey-brown eyes glared down at Jamil.

* * *

 **A/N: So, the chapters from here on out will get longer and contain more manga chapters per one story chapter. In fact, this chapter was supposed to cover Nights 10, 11, 12 & 13, but I decided against that. The chapters will DEFINITELY get longer once I start writing the Balbadd Arc since that arc is so long.**


	8. How to End Dungeon Diving

**Chapter Eight: How to End Dungeon Diving**

* * *

Alibaba stood in front of Jamil, who was on the ground. "How did I loose to you…?!" questioned a less than pleased Jamil.

The blond still stood in front of the slave owner, knife pointed at him. He was thinking to himself about how he had things under control, surprisingly without help from Tettia. Moving his knife closer to Jamil's neck, he said, "All right, buddy! You don't make any funny moves and I don't have any reason to take your life. Just hand over Aladdin's flute, and we're square, got it?"

Jamil would not be doing that, however. Instead, he called out, "Morgiana! Come and save me, now!"

"That ain't happening," retorted Alibaba, believing the slave was too far away and that he could kill Jamil before she would get to him.

In an instant, Morgiana was behind Alibaba, ready to kick him. That was until Tettia showed up and grabbed the other Fanalis's shackled foot. "I don't think so. You ain't hitting another one of my friends, got it?" she said in a dangerously low voice as she threw Morgiana away from the blond and herself.

Alibaba whipped his head and looked at Tettia. "When'd you two get here?! There is _no way_ that you _both_ ran from all the way over there!? In no time flat?! What about Aladdin? He is okay?!" he asked almost hysterically, falling onto the ground.

The two Fanalis stood in front of one another, glaring harshly into the other's eyes. Jamil sneered at Alibaba as he stood up, saying, "Aww, whazamatter, scared? I thought you were ready for _anything_ , blondie."

Tettia clenched her fists, readying herself to sucker-punch Jamil. That was until Alibaba laughed and got off of the ground, and she turned back to look at him. Walking forward and shrugging his shoulders, the blond spoke calmly, "And here I thought you were prepared for everything. Guess I thought wrong, huh Boss? So…! Morgiana! Come with us!" He held out a hand towards the slave girl.

Everyone looked at Alibaba like he was an idiot, save for Morgiana, who just glared at him. Grabbing the rope around his neck, Tettia faced away from the slave girl and her owner. "And what the hell, might I ask, do you think you're doing, mister?! You understand that that girl is like me — though she is a purebred where I am just a halfbreed. Not to mention that she has had almost irreversible mental trauma instilled in her by that jackass! Do you _really_ think that she will leave that moron's side so easily?!" whisper-yelled Tettia.

Alibaba looked at her and replied in a whisper, "I think that it's worth a try. If she doesn't, you can handle her, right?"

A sigh passed the half-Fanalis's lips as she whispered back, "Yeah, she shouldn't be a problem. Though she is a purebred, she hasn't had training, which means I am superior in skill. Plus, she's only good in hand-to-hand combat, whereas I am skilled in both hand-to-hand and knife-play."

"Then, there's nothing to worry about if she doesn't join us," he replied quietly.

"God, you're an idiot… but I like you, so… fine," Tettia said quietly, smiling as she let go of his rope necklace.

The two turned back towards the other two, who had been waiting patiently, weirdly enough. "Aye! Join us! Think about it, this is your chance! This a dungeon. If you were to run away from that scum there… no one would give a flip!" exclaimed Tettia, not really wanting to fight and possibly end the life of a fellow Fanalis.

"Yeah! You don't have to be scared of a guy like him! So fight with me and Tet…" Alibaba said.

The two friends looked at one another and smiled, continuing, "… Fight for your freedom!"

"Hey… Morgiana…" Jamil said, and upon her not answering, he asked again, "Morgiana?"

Morgiana's crimson eyes were still narrowed to a fine point and she stepped forward towards the blond and half-Fanalis. Alibaba held out a hand while Tettia smiled brightly. Morgiana took Alibaba's hand and the blond spoke, "I guess this is… ok, then?"

The purebred Fanalis pulled Alibaba towards her and that caused Tettia to growl. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed and noticed the pillar Morgiana was walking towards. "Oh no, no, no! Ali, I told you this was a bad idea!"

Tettia jumped into action. Before Alibaba could get a face-full of stone pillar for lunch, Tettia grabbed Morgiana's arm and twisted it, making her release Alibaba. Even though she saved Alibaba, she found herself being flung against the stone pillar in the blond's place. The attack winded her, no doubt, but she was not really hurt. Tettia fell to the ground, wheezing a bit. "I-I'll… k-kill… you… J-Jamil…" wheezed Tettia, holding her side. Even though Morgiana was the one who did that to her, she did not want to kill the Fanalis slave, instead she wanted to kill the master. That way the slave could be freed.

"Shit! Tet, are you okay?" exclaimed Alibaba as he began to kneel down beside his friend, Morgiana kicked him in the back, more on the his left side of his back, hard. That hard kick sent Alibaba down onto the ground beside Tettia, groaning in pain. Now the two friends were on the ground. "Wh…why…" he said

Jamil stood up from the ground, walked by Morgiana, ruffling her hair as he said, "You're such a good little girl, Morgiana. You played those two like strings for me, didn't you?! Hahaha, that's it, right?!" asked Jamil as he walked towards the two on the ground.

With each step, Tettia weakly growled. If that slave owning baby was even thinking about what she thought he was thinking about, Tettia was going to beat the snot out of him. She was never trash nor would she ever be trash, and she surely as hell would not be kicked around like a bottle. "Unnngh…" both the blond and red-head groaned as they weakly tried to get up.

Jamil stopped in front of Alibaba and proceeded to kick him in the stomach. "You trash…! Plebeians! Plebeians! Plebeians!" he said as he took out his anger on Alibaba for some unknown reason. Why was the dark-haired slave owner not taking out his anger on Tettia? She was obviously more hurt than Alibaba: at least Alibaba did not have a wheeze like she did. "Do you think _you two_ can _use_ her like I do?! What give you two the _right_ to order _my slave_ …! Huuuh? _Why_ , you ask? You mean you don't understand it…? Let me teach you _both_ how to use a slave. Hey, Morgiana… c'mere and kill these little plebeians," demanded Jamil as he brandished his sword.

That was when Morgiana's harshly narrowed crimson eyes widened. Her master had _not_ just asked her to do what she thought he had just said, did he? Let it be known that Jamil was a leader who surpassed others; not in swordplay or education, but in the abuse he heaped upon his slaves. Day after day, Jamil would use abuse as his doctrine, and that eventually caused a massive change in Morgiana. That abuse lead to her never resisting him, even if she wanted to. Morgiana stepped forward and Jamil handed his sword to the young Fanalis slave. "Now, go ahead and kill them for me! Kill the boy first!" called Jamil, smiling at his slave. Morgiana stood above the two friends and held her master's sword above her head, hesitation clear in her facial expressions as her crimson eyes darted back to her master. Eyes directed towards Morgiana narrowed to a deadly point and he demanded, "Do it _now_."

As Tettia had told Alibaba, Morgiana had been so traumatized by Jamil that those tragic memories of hers controlled her every move. Reluctantly, Morgiana raised the sword higher above her head as she got ready to let the sword come down in one swift killing blow.

"…N-no… d-don't…!" weakly called Tettia, reaching the hand not holding her side out, in a lousy attempt to get the other Fanalis to stop. "…P-please…"

Jamil had the most abnormally large grin on his face as he chanted, "Kill, kill! Kill! Kill him! Then kill her!"

Morgiana thrusted the sword downwards, fully yet reluctantly ready to kill. Tettia weakly cried out for her to stop. Yet, in the blink of an eye, the sword's blade was broken all the way to the hilt. Tettia gasped and a few terror-induced tears, that had collected at the corner of her red eyes, gently streaked down her face. The wounded half-Fanalis was not the only one completely caught by surprise at this sudden action: Jamil, Morgiana and Alibaba were too. The slave and her master whipped their head back, to see who had done that.

Aladdin was back on his feet and held a staff of some sort away from himself. His face held a neutral expression: no anger or sadness could be found. The bluenette walked over to his friends, who were still on the ground, kneeling beside Tettia. The young Magi passed the enemies like they were not even there. Now it was Alibaba who was more wounded than Tettia, blood streamed down from his nose from when Jamil had kicked him. Almost literally kicked the shit out of the blond. The blond was still holding his stomach, just like Tettia was. "Alibaba, Tet… are you okay?" asked the young boy as he touched Tettia's arm.

"Y…yeah… but you'd better be careful… that girl… she's trouble…" Tettia and Alibaba both weakly wheezed.

Tettia added, her voice beginning to waver in and out, "S-she's… a… purebred… F-Fanalis…"

Both of Aladdin's friends' breathing was labored, again, Alibaba's being more labored than Tettia. Reaching out, Tettia placed one of her hands on top of one of Alibaba's hand. "I-…I'm s-sorry… I couldn't… pr-protect… you better…" she muttered, her breath shaking and becoming a whisper.

"…Tet…tia… you protected… me…" Alibaba said, smiling at her.

Morgiana looked at the two people she had hurt with wide eyes. Meanwhile, Aladdin stood over his friends, Rukh began fluttering around his body; Tettia could sense the seriousness coming from his young body.

Jamil shrugged and he said in a condescending way, "I see… you're still awake, huh?"

Turning towards Jamil and his slave, Aladdin held out his hand in the _'gimme'_ feel. "Hand over my flute," he simply asked.

Crossing his arms and shaking his head, the dark-haired slave owner still spoke condescendingly, "I'm afraid I can't do that. I mean, after all, that dirty little urchin dragged me around a fair bit. This is me we're talking about! So I can't possibly give it back until I reach the goal. Okay?"

Alibaba weakly tried to get up, looking over Tettia's body at the dark-haired man. Tettia even looked over her shoulder. _Drag…?_ they both thought.

Still holding his hand out, waiting for his flute, Aladdin repeated, "My flute. Hand it over."

"If you want it so bad, take it by force. Without the flute, you can't do anything. Which means that you're useless to me too," said Jamil. The man was being a snarky little shit, was he not?

Aladdin took the stone staff in his hands and readied it. " _Hand it_ ** _over_** ," the young Magi demanded one, last time.

The blond looked on with slight curiosity. "Huh… that's just a tone cane, isn't it?" he asked quietly to Tettia.

The red-head nodded slightly. "Aye, it is… but watch it…" she said.

As soon as she said that, Rukh gathered around the stone cane. Alibaba remembered that from earlier, when Ugo defeated that King Slime. "They're those things…! From earlier?!" he questioned.

Tettia snickered at his realization. "Aye! Watch Laddin work his magic~!"

Jamil took mild surprise in the light surrounding the stone cane. He smiled as Aladdin gathered more Rukh around the cane. "Amazing… it's just as my teacher said…!" he exclaimed.

Once Aladdin had enough Rukh surrounding the cane in his hands, Aladdin advanced towards Jamil. Morgiana was quick to defend Jamil as the young boy swung his cane, her shackles connected with Aladdin's cane. However, that was not enough to stop the young Magi's attack; a ball of magic shot from the top of the cane and hurdled towards Jamil. Morgiana looked back in horror as a huge explosion came as a result from behind them.

Jamil still wore a smile, but it was more of a _I might have screwed up_ smile. "It has to be him! A user of the grand world creation magic…! The Magi!" he exclaimed.

Aladdin's hair cast a shadow over his eyes and he had a serious expression. He stood in a battle-ready position. He was not going to back down, not only were his friends hurt, but that brat refused to return the flute to its rightful owner. The young Magi held an expression that was less than pleased. The cane still gathering light.

Alibaba was amazed, the pain kind of subsiding. _What the…?! Aladdin's cane is gathering light…!_ he thought to himself.

Tettia had forced herself up by this point, pushing through the pain, and was now leaning against a pillar. Specifically the pillar that had caused her so much outer and possibly inner pain. "Go Laddin! Kick their asses!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air. Immediately, she retracted her arms from the air, groaning in pain. "Owww…"

Aladdin was in utter serious mode. He was ready for the upcoming battle. On the other hand, Jamil was smiling like an idiot, blushing slightly like someone who just met their role model. "It's the slave of the Rukhs… you're the Magi, without a doubt! Go, Morgiana! Using my slaves as _power_! Show him just how strong you are!" screamed the idiot slave owner.

Once again, Morgiana's crimson eyes glared harshly at Aladdin. The usually soft blue eyes of the young Magi were also narrowed in seriousness. Both Aladdin and Morgiana stood their ground. Jamil's face contorted in contempt as he flaunted the young Magi's flute. "Magi… you're not going anywhere. I haven't acknowledged you yet, there is no way you can defeat Morgiana… because she is a descendant of that legendary race of warriors… the Fanalis!" yelled Jamil as he was almost jumping in idiotic joy. Morgiana was in a Fanalis battle stance.

Alibaba's eyes widened and Aladdin's remained narrowed. Tettia laughed, "Yeah, thanks for telling us all the obvious, dumbass! I knew that! The red hair and eyes are a dead give away, idiot!"

The black-haired slave owner continued, looking like a madman, "Oh yeah? Well, did you know that their kicks are like lightning… and they could even take down the mighty king of beasts in one blow! The ultimate hunting tribe from the continent of darkness! No matter what attack is launched against them, they stand unscathed! In short, they are the most fearsome of all predators! So… Magi! Unless you have what it takes to defeat those who stand above the lions… give up quietly… and become my general!"

Tettia yelled loudly, "You're a damned idiot, you scum! Laddin has what it takes to take on a stupid purebred Fanalis! He took me on once, and I'm a half-Fanalis!"

Alibaba looked over at Tettia with disbelief swirling in his honey orbs. "That's what you are, Tet?! A descendant of warriors!?" he asked hysterically.

Tettia nodded, smiling a goofy yet proud open-mouthed smile. "I did tell you I am exceptionally skilled with daggers! As well as hand-to-hand combat," she said.

"I thought that was just because you had trained for years," came his answer.

She shrugged, replying, "Well, I mean, I did have to train too, but most of what I know comes naturally. My mother was a Fanalis and my dad was a warrior… kinda runs in my blood."

Aladdin swung his cane and magic sent Morgiana flying. Jamil looked overjoyed and was smiling idiotically; Alibaba gasped, sweat-dropping, not ready for the young Magi's attack; Morgiana was also surprised by the sudden attack; Tettia was routing for Aladdin. Morgiana went flying into the top of a pillar and there she stayed, bound by the magic. "I'm sorry, miss… just stay there for a little while, okay?" he said.

The raven-haired slave owner collapsed to the ground yet again, Aladdin walking towards him. The older man was holding Aladdin's flute in his left hand, he looked up at Aladdin as the young boy bent over. "My flute. Hand it over," said Aladdin as he reached for his flute, taking it back from the greedy slave owner. Once he retrieved his flute, the young Magi turned away from and started walking away. Aladdin walked towards his wounded friends.

"Hold on! This isn't how it's supposed to be!" exclaimed Jamil, holding out his hand towards the retreating Magi.

Aladdin, Alibaba and Tettia looked at Jamil with curiosity. "Oh really? How was it supposed to be then, jerk?" Tettia asked, growling.

"Well… I'm supposed to be king! I've been waiting for you… waiting all this time…! Today is the day you're supposed to choose me…! That's why I've worked so hard…! Taking the place of my insipid parents… _using people,_ enacting laws, raising my fortunes. The one who raised Chishan into the biggest labyrinth town was me!" Jamil began to rant, pointing at himself. "What do you think? Amazing, right?! That's right, I'm amazing. I am a chosen one! I'm a capable man! That's why… you have to make me king…!"

Aladdin still was looking over his shoulder. " _King_ …" began the young Magi, "I don't know what that is, but… I… couldn't think of anyone less deserving of something like that, sir." Once again, usually soft blue eyes was hardened and glared down at the older man.

That broke Jamil. He slumped forward, down at the ground, using his elbows to keep him hovering above the ground. On the other hand, Aladdin had turned, looking back at his two friends, and began walking back to them. Alibaba and Tettia looked at Aladdin, both of them smiling at the young blue-haired Magi. "Ha ha h…" laughed Alibaba.

Kneeling down beside Alibaba, Aladdin lifted the blond off of the floor. His blue eyes returned to their soft demeanor as he looked at both Alibaba and Tettia. "Are you two okay?"

"You know I'm fine," Tettia said, brushing off the pain. Just like she always did. Tettia would always bounce back relatively quickly from being hurt.

Alibaba also brushed it off as he said, "I'm good, this is nothing! But you… you're awesome! What was that? Spirit power? Are you a magician? I mean, _what_ are you?! You're so much cool than I ever would have imagined! I had no idea…! Tettia, you were amazing too! You saved me from being thrown into the pillar… I'm just sorry that you had to take my place."

"Pssssh, don't worry about that… I'm glad I took your place in getting a face-full of pillar. I knew it would hurt you more than it would hurt me," spoke Tettia with a gentle smile.

Aladdin smiled at Alibaba as well. "Also, what are you saying? Alibaba… you're the one who wanted to go _dungeon diving_ and came here… you're my friend! Now… let's continue our adventure! And find that _treasure chest_! Right, Tet?" he said.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Tettia, who weakly threw her arms into the air.

Alibaba almost instantly got over his pain and had an arm wrapped around Aladdin's shoulder. "Y-yeah! Let's go!" he exclaimed.

Tettia's jaw dropped, for someone who got the snot beat out of him, that blond sure did bounce back fast. He bounced back faster than Tettia could from being flung into a pillar. She rolled her crimson eyes and grabbed at the air. "All righty, then! I can't jump up so… someone help me up," she said. Alibaba took one of her hands and pulled the half-Fanalis upright real quick. Tettia wasn't prepared for that and she squeaked in pain, falling into Alibaba's chest.

"Crap!" called the blond as he toppled over as a result of Tettia's fall. Somehow, he regained his balance and prevented himself and Tettia from returning to the ground. "You gonna be alright to stand on your own?" he asked, steading themselves.

Tettia looked up at Alibaba from his chest with a small smile. "Y-yeah… I should be able to manage on my own… thanks for catching me," she said with an almost unnoticeable blush.

Aladdin smiled at the two and then looked down at his flute, which was making some soft noises. Then, it began to glow. "The flute is glowing…" he said.

Moving away from Alibaba's chest, but holding onto his shoulder for balance, Tettia turned her crimson gaze towards the pot the light from the flute was pointing to. Alibaba's honey orbs also followed the light. Eventually, even Aladdin's blue eyes looked at the pot, as well. "That pot?" questioned Alibaba and Tettia.

"It lit up," stated Aladdin.

The trio approached the pot enveloped in light. Aladdin reached for the pot, Tettia and Alibaba not sure he should be doing that. "Ah, Aladdin…!" stuttered Alibaba.

Aladdin touched the pot and something happened. From the pot, a giant appeared. This must have been the Djinn the blond was talking about. This had to be what Ugo was. Djinns were _huge_ , towering creatures. Everyone below the Djinn could not see its face. Tettia, Alibaba, Aladdin, Jamil and Morgiana looked up at the towering creature with wide eyes and jaws dropped. "Who is it…?" came the Djinn's loud, booming male voice. "Who wants to become king?"

The Djinn looked down at everyone, who had fallen to the ground. Looking at Jamil, who had raised his hands into the air, the Djinn spoke harshly, "Hmph… is it you? …No… can't be. Your vessel is as black as night and it reeks of a sham…" Casting his gaze on Morgiana as he continued, "You, girlie? No… your vessel is too small. However, I can feel a strong desire to live emanating from you…" His eyes came to rest on Tettia, "While your vessel is not too small, I do not feel like you can handle my power…"

Tettia nodded with a slight shrug, "I can understand that."

Finally, the Djinn's eyes fell on Alibaba. "You…?"

Alibaba stared up at the male Djinn and then exclaimed, not hearing what the Djinn had said, "Wh-what was that?!"

The Djinn replied, "So tiny… I can't hear you at all." And then after that, the huge Djinn shrank himself down so that he could hear what the tiny humans were saying. "Oh… now, what about the rest… let's see…" he said. Tettia had an arm slung over Alibaba's shoulders as they both stood behind their blue-haired friend. "Hmmm? Ohhh. If it isn't the Magi," the Djinn said, bowing his head to Aladdin.

Aladdin pointed to himself, not understanding his importance. Or why the Djinn was bowing to him. "Eh? Are you talking about me?"

Tettia sighed and rolled her eyes playfully. "Nah, he's talking to the _other_ person who can use magic, Laddin!" she teased. Aladdin stuck his tongue out at her.

While Alibaba turned his gaze towards Aladdin, Tettia continued looking at the Djinn. _H-hey! That monster bowed its head to him?! Do they know each other? And what the hell is a_ ** _Magi_** _?! Aladdin… just… What the hell are you?!_ the blond thought to himself, not knowing what to do. Should he also bow his head to Aladdin? His honey brown orbs glanced over at Tettia, who was looking intently at the Djinn before them.

Ugo started to react and come out of the flute all on his own. Coming out of the flute fully, the other Djinn's eyes widened. "Ah… it is you!" exclaimed the other male Djinn. Ugo proceeded to make hand and body movements, and he and the other male Djinn had a conversation.

The trio looked at the two Djinn as Ugo communicated through body motions. "Uhh… does anybody understand what they're talking about…?" asked Tettia. Her two companions shook their heads. "…Okay… glad it's not just me who doesn't get it…" she muttered. Nobody understood what the two large Djinns were conversing about as they looked on.

After a few more moments of the two Djinns' conversation, the unknown male Djinn spoke, "I see… well, I think I understand the situation now. Proper introductions are in order. My name is Amon, a Djinn of great Honor and Austerity. From what I understand, you all… came through this dungeon to meet me, did you not? Well, congratulations… you have _cleared_ this dungeon."

The trio's faces become bright and they all smile huge, open-mouthed smiles. "We— We cleared it!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Now over the pain, Tettia had bounced back. "Hell yes! We did it!" she exclaimed, "Way to go team!"

After that, Alibaba immediately went to gathering his treasures. Aladdin and Tettia sat down, letting the blond do what he had gone there to do. "Hey there! Amon, I'm Aladdin, nice to meet you…?" Aladdin introduced himself, waving at the Djinn.

Tettia also waved at Amon. "What's up? I'm Tettia, pleased to meet you, sir Djinn sir," she said with a grin.

Looking down at the young Magi and his half-Fanalis friend, Amon said, "Yes… nice to meet you, Tettia. However, I do know of you, Aladdin… you're a _Magi_."

Aladdin looked up at Amon and asked, "What's a _Magi_?"

Amon and Ugo shared a look before Amon began, "A _Magi_ is someone selected to be royalty. Before long, this world will need to choose a king… a person who has mastered magic. A person whom others will flock to because of his righteousness. A king like no other. This person must be sought out, found, and then chosen. He will be trained by the wise, then elevated to become a king of unprecedented grandeur. Grand enough to even take the place of our beloved Solomon…! This person is… _you, boy_."

Tettia looked at Aladdin with her hand over her mouth as Aladdin tried understand. "Oh my god… you're so important, Laddin," she gasped.

"I… am…?" questioned the young Magi.

Attacking him with a hug, both Tettia and Aladdin fell over. " _Yeeeessssss_! You are! You're so important! And precious to people! Especially me," she said, kissing the young boy's cheek in affection.

Aladdin laughed as she kissed his cheek. "And you're precious to me, Tet!"

As they were having a cute moment, Alibaba asked, with an armful of treasures, "Hey, um… what about my treasure? Or, hey, since I cleared the dungeon, can I have this?"

"What a noisy runt you are… fine, take whatever you want, and be quiet!" Amon told Alibaba, who went back to gathering his treasure. " _Sigh_ … why would you bring a brat like him along? I am positive you and Tettia could have cleared my dungeon by yourselves…"

Tettia and Aladdin had sat back up, the young Magi tilting his head in confusion. "Er, what do you mean?" he asked.

Looking up at Amon, Tettia agreed, "Aye, what do you mean, mister Amon?"

Waving off Amon's statement, Aladdin said, "That's not important anyway… tell me something. I'm taking someone's place? Why me…?"

"That is a great question, Laddin," Tettia said.

Amon and Ugo again shared a look and the older Djinn spoke, "That's…"

His speaking was interrupted by a sudden shift, a jolt, a shockwave of some sorts. Alibaba, who had treasures piled onto him, asked, "Wh… whazzat?!"

Amon seemed to know what it was. "Mng… this is…? Someone is trying to steal the _road_ from the outside…"

" _Road_?" questioned Aladdin and Tettia.

Alibaba had a ton of treasures wrapped in a bag of some sort. "Whoa, that was close! I just managed to save these… here, Aladdin, you take these and then Tettia can take this bag."

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want, pretty boy," she said with a shrug.

"Y-yeah…" Aladdin said calmly, looking at the bag he got. The smallest one. The blond picked up his bag and Tettia picked up her bag.

Amon spoke, "You three sure are laid back at a time like this… but if this keeps up… you won't be able to leave this place!"

The trio's faces fell. "Eeeeeeeh?!" they said in unison.

Alibaba flailed and grabbed onto the Djinn. "That's a _bit_ of a problem, man!"

"Don't panic! I'm going to create an exit for you now, so worry not!" replied Amon.

Tettia punched in air in victory. "Way to go, mister Amon!" she exclaimed as Amon did, indeed make an exit for them. It was an eight-pointed star.

Once the portal had been opened, Amon said, "Now, if you want to return, enter this circle!"

The four of them, Ugo included, scrambled to get themselves and the treasure onto the circle. Once they got into the circle, they all looked up. "The roof… it looks the same as the dungeon's gate…" pointed out Alibaba.

"Yeah," said both Aladdin and Tettia.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to go back?!" Amon said to someone.

The trio looked back and they had forgotten about the slave girl, who was standing in front of her master. Amon tried to urge the Fanalis into leaving, "Make haste! This dungeon is going to collapse…! It's certain death for anyone still here after that happens!"

Aladdin held out a hand towards Morgiana and exclaimed, "Miss! Grab hold, quickly!"

Instead of grabbing hold of Aladdin's hand, Morgiana turned and started to run towards Jamil, her shitty master. "Why are you _still_ worried about that bastard?!" yelled Tettia and Alibaba.

"Leave him behind and follow us to your freedom! The freedom you _deserve_!" called Tettia.

Alibaba called out as well, "He's only caused you all kinda of trouble up until now, right?!"

That got her to stop just as she was reaching out for her master. Morgiana remembered all the ridiculous amount of drama her master had put her through. Her face contorted in terror at the thought of abandoning her master, she reached out a shaky hand towards Jamil: who had been rendered unresponsive. Her hand was about to touch Jamil, and then Goltas popped up, surprising everyone. "Go-Goltas! You're alive… move aside, Goltas! I have to save master," she exclaimed.

Goltas touched his throat and the unexpected happened: he spoke. "T—that man… has no need to… leave here…"

"Goltas… you… you can talk?" Morgiana asked, unbelieving that he could talk.

Aladdin and Tettia looked intently at Goltas as he went to pick up Jamil. "I… I… I have no need to leave either… Morgiana… you and I came from the North and the South… our ancestors are of the same tribes… but… I have… forgotten my family and pride… and completely given in to being his property. A person like me, who has been utterly broken like this and has taken people's lives… could _never_ return to his country… or face his people. But, you're different, you've been stuck under him, but you've managed to hold on to your pride. Return to your country, Morgiana… that is my final… desire," spoke Goltas as he used his broadsword as a walking stick and walked towards his fellow slave. Once he got close enough, he cut the chains on Morgiana's shackles.

With her chains being broken, Morgiana ran to and hopped onto the circle.

"The dungeon is crumbling… make haste…!" said Amon, sending them off.

Morgiana looked down to lay her eyes on Goltas and Jamil one, last time. Jamil seemed to be rambling to Goltas, but neither Morgiana nor Tettia could understand what was being said. Not over the crumbling of the dungeon around them. Morgiana stood there, not able to look away as she watched her former master and fellow slave walk into the dungeon, where they would perish. Alibaba looked down in sympathy, Tettia leaning on him. It was awkwardly silent and Tettia did not much like the awkward silence, but it was tense and she did not want to break the silence.

Outside the portal, Amon said, "Now go, with the blessing of king Solomon… this will be the final bit of magic I can spare you! Oh, I should go with them." After that being said, Amon took up residency in Alibaba's knife. Of course, nobody noticed that tidbit of information.

Outside, in the city of Chishan, the dungeon began to sink. Citizens of the city scrambled away from the area. "What's going on…?!" some called.

"The dungeon, it's… sinking?!" another called out.

Above the city, on another magic turban, sat yet another Magi and his cohort. "Sir Magi, the dungeon is sinking…"

"Yeah… I mean, having that weird tower there was annoying, right?" said the other Magi. This Magi had long, black hair, red eyes adorned with purple eyeshadow; and he did not look friendly. "The leader's no longer around here… so, let's go home," he said. Then he made his magic turban fly them back home.

"We're going through that portal again!" exclaimed Alibaba, who was holding onto his treasure as if his life depended on it.

Tettia smiled and, like before, said what he was thinking, " _Aw, dammit! I don't wanna feel like I'm being ripped apart again! It just sucks!_ That's what you're thinking, aye?"

"Shut up! Hold tight, here we go!" called Alibaba.

With a shrug, Tettia complied. "All right, but remember, you told me to hold on tight," she said as she wrapped her arm around his arm and held onto Alibaba tightly as they all entered the light for a second time.

When Alibaba came to, he rubbed his one of his eyes, like he had just woken up. Taking a gander down below, he saw the massive whole that was supposed to be the dungeon. "Guess we're almost home. Also: _Whoa! Is that where we came from_? Hehe," came a familiar female voice.

"Well that answers my second thought: was I left alone again…" he said as he turned to face Tettia and Aladdin.

Aladdin waved at Alibaba while Tettia smirked mischievously. Aladdin and Tettia moved closer to the blond, both saying, "So, looks like we will be home soon."

"Yeah, it does," the blond said to them.

Tettia smiled as she came to sit directly beside Alibaba. "I just feel like kicking back… and having some fun with Ali. Mainly with showing him around _Alibaba Park_ ," she said with a wink accompanied by a dastardly grin.

Even the very mentioning of _Alibaba Park_ had the blond's face turn as bright as an apple. "M-mmhmm…" stuttered the blond.

"Hey, you are the _mayor_ , aren't'cha?" Tettia asked as she threw her hands behind her head, her tongue sticking out as she looked at his honey colored orbs.

Completely and utterly not wanting to even ask, Aladdin replied with a simple, "Me too… well, the kicking back thing. I don't know what to think about the other thing you said, Tet."

Tettia sighed a heavy, relieved sigh, "Gooooooood… don't worry about it until you're me and Ali's age…"

"Kay then!" he said with a smile.

"But I'm still too hyped up to sleep," said Aladdin and Tettia.

Alibaba had an idea, "Let's talk some."

"Okay!" the two said.

Tettia again let out a relieved sigh as they all got comfortable with lounging about. "This feels nice, by the way~!"

Alibaba began to reminisce on the adventure. "That sure was a hell of a quest! I thought I'd _die_ — um, wait… let's see, how many times…? More than _seven_ times over!"

Tettia groaned, "Oh my god, yes! Same. Especially when that dick just left us for dead and _that_ happened. Also, when I got thrown into that pillar, I was pretty sure I heard my back break, but nope! I'm feeling hella better. Now that I'm with my friends!"

Aladdin was laying on his stomach, kicking his feet up, smiling. "I really thought we'd get eaten by those giant ants back then…"

Both the red-head and blond gasped at the thought. "Yup, those ants sure were evil," they exclaimed.

"But those eggs were pretty, right?" asked Alibaba with a adorable grin.

Tettia gasped, "The moss on the walls were beautiful, too!"

Her statement had Alibaba become slightly disheartened. She wondered what was wrong until he said, "I was hoping to get some so I'd sell it, but I didn't get a chance."

The half-Fanalis face-palmed while her blue-haired friend said, "It's not so bad, we got a bunch of treasure! Alibaba, why are you trying to gather so much money?"

Alibaba chuckled, "Eh, you're asking _why_? I've got all kinds of reasons! The most important is that I need a lot of it. See, I want to open a shop when I get enough cash for it. The best way to make my own money is to open a shop, and of course, everything I sell will be stuff I found myself! I am going to go down South! To the country of **_Sindria_**! It's the capital of dreams and parties run by Sinbad himself! There, I will open my shop, _Sinbad Dream_!"

Tettia's eyes widened at the mention of the name _Sinbad_. "You're fucking kidding me?! You're going to Sindria?! Where _Sinbad_ is," she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

"Yay! That sounds like fun!" yelled Aladdin.

Alibaba nodded, "Yeah.… well, before I do that, I'd stop by Balbadd for a bit to take care of a little business. What about you, Aladdin? Tettia? Are you gonna go home?"

"Me? Come what may," came the bluenette's reply, "Right now, I'm going to keep looking with Ugo for the _Djinn Container_. I guess if you've reached your goal, Alibaba… then me and Tet's adventures together with you… are over."

Tettia yawned out her reply, "I don't have a home to go back to. My parents died about three years ago, and that's when I left on my adventure. I didn't meet Laddin until two years ago, and we've never been in the same area for long. Always helping people then moving on."

"Over, huh… also… sorry, Tettia," he answered. The blond looked down at his lap as he began to remember the good times he had had with Tettia and Aladdin. After a few moments, he said, "Hey… Tet, Aladdin…"

They both looked at him, "Hmm?"

Alibaba continued, "Thanks for… well, everything. I had always wanted to go dungeon diving, but I never thought I could do it until I met you two. When you both joined me dungeon diving, I was _so_ glad! See, I had always backed off… I made it to the stairs, but just when I got to the top, I always got cold feet. I'd be frozen, couldn't move at all. But that's all ancient history, now… I was afraid of screwing up, so I gave in. What a coward I was! We've done it because of your strengths!"

Tettia laughed at his speech. Alibaba looked at Tettia with a sad expression, was she laughing at him? "I'm sorry, that was really sweet and cute to me for some reason, Ali," she clarified her reason for laughter.

Aladdin had stood up. "I don't think so… you're brave! I've known that from the day I met you," he began.

"Oh yeah! You played along with Budel back then, but both me and Laddin said how angry you were when he laughed at your dreams. Which is why, when he threatened the lives of others, you got really angry and fought him, and went out of your way to save myself and the others," Tettia said, scooting closer to the blond.

"Yeah! That's how you really are… you know, back then… I… I really began to take a liking to you! Not to mention that you did save Tet, she's like an older sister to me! Which is why is doesn't surprise me that she took a liking to you, too. Despite your reasons, you still believed in yourself! As long as you do that, you're fine," Aladdin assured with a smile.

Nodding, Tettia picked up, "Right! That's not something a coward could do. So, we _know_ you're brave. Incredibly brave!"

"… And we respect that about you, _best friend_!" Tettia and Aladdin finished with large grins.

Alibaba looked at Tettia and Aladdin and got teary-eyed. "Don't go praising me like that! You both won't get anything! Well, a little cash, maybe, since we're all rich!" gushed Alibaba, "Now, I get all the women and food I have ever wanted!"

"Oi vey…" muttered Tettia.

Aladdin was turning into a ball of mush again. "Food and girls~?" he gushed.

"Hell, yeah!" exclaimed Alibaba. "So don't either one of you say stuff like _'adventure is over'_ , there's still plenty left to do! It ain't over yet! There are still lots of dungeons and plenty of other worlds to explore! It will be a blast! I'm getting excited just thinking about it!"

The blond's words made Tettia smile. He did not want their adventure to be over just as much as Aladdin and Tettia did. That was a relief. "Yeah! We've got to find them all, right, Ali?!"

"Yeah! We've got nothing better to do, right?" exclaimed an excited Alibaba. "Let's quit sitting beside the road and get moving! We can do it if the three of us are together!" He extended a hand out towards the half-Fanalis and the young Magi.

The red-head and bluenette looked at one another for a moment, before throwing their hands up into the air, rejoicing, "Yeah! Let's go!"

Alibaba laughed happily, "Right! It's decided, then!"

"Yaay! It will be so much fun! And I'll still get to tease Ali!" called out Tettia.

Whipping his head to look at the half-Fanalis, Alibaba's honey colored eyes were wide, a blush crept onto his face. "Y-you're kidding, right?" he asked.

Tettia put a finger on her lips, winking at the blond. "I won't tell you if I'm kidding or not… where would be the fun in that, eh?"

"Let's go, then!" called out Aladdin.

"It's a promise, then," the trio said together as they decided to go to sleep.

Morgiana was transported to the outskirts of the city of Chishan.

Alibaba and Tettia were transported to the site of Basal's dungeon, with his mountain of treasures. They both looked at each other, and smiled, knowing that even though Aladdin was not with them at that moment, he would come back for them.

"Looks like you're stuck with me, Ali," said Tettia, sticking out her tongue.

"Aren't you worried about Aladdin?"

"Nah, I know he can take care of himself," she said, standing up.

The blond nodded, not seeing a flaw in her logic. "True."

"Should we go…? I'm kinda sore and would like a comfy bed to lay down in," Tettia said. "I am going to sleep for _months_! Don't do anything to me while I rest!" she said with a teasing wink.

Alibaba laughed, "I doubt that you'll sleep for months, Tet. A few hours, or a few days, maybe, but not months."

"Then get up, pretty boy~ take me home… I need a bed!" exclaimed Tettia.

Standing up, Alibaba looked at Tettia. "And what do you want me to do? Carry you to a house?"

"Maybe! I am really sore, and I did get a pillar to the body earlier, remember?" she joked.

Alibaba and Tettia shared a good, long laugh. "True, though, you're sore."

"Aye… let's go," she said. The duo walked off to someplace, somewhere in the city.

* * *

 **A/N: GEEZ! FINALLY! I am done with the Dungeon Arc! I can start on the Balbadd Arc! I will be skipping the Kouga and Morgiana Arcs because Tettia will have little relevance in those Arcs, so I'mma just skip to the Balbadd Arc… I'm so excited to write the Balbadd Arc!**


	9. What Even?

**Chapter Nine: What Even?**

* * *

Time had passed and Tettia went to go find Aladdin, her worry had boiled over. After having Morgiana talk to both herself and Alibaba, she decided to go find the young boy. Before she left on her journey, Alibaba told her that he was heading to Balbadd. The duo promised to meet again in Balbadd, Tettia swearing to have Aladdin with her. Having that promise exchanged between them, the duo split up and went their separate ways.

On a path, three men, brothers in fact, walked. "I will bear our hardships, my younger brothers," said the oldest brother, S Nando.

"Brother, I'm hungry~" the middle brother, L Nando, said.

Raking his fingers through his hair, the youngest brother, M Nando, said, "All of our stored good and subordinates…"

They were ex-thieves.

"Don't worry… we'll head towards Balbadd and gather new underlings. Right now, there is a rebellion and terrorists are there… so let's take advantage of that," said S Nando.

"However, even so, we'll need funds…" mentioned M Nando.

The middle brother pointed at something up ahead. "Brother, over there, over there," he exclaimed.

The oldest brother looked at what the middle brother was pointing to. Then they proceeded to walk towards the destination. The brothers walked up to a man, who smelled of alcohol and probably passed out in a drunken stupor. The sleeping man was decked out in precious metals. "It's a person…" the middle brother said.

"And he smells like alcohol… is he drunk?" M said.

"Brother, I want to drink sake, too~" whine L.

Looking at S, M asked, "What should we do, brother?"

"Brothers… it seems like luck is still with us. Look! This man's clothes!" M said, pointing at the sleeping man.

"Wow~! That's really expensive! Let's steal it all…" one of the brothers said as the proceeded to rob the sleeping man.

Up in a tree, a female was snickering to herself, whispering, "That's what you get, you fucking idiot…"

"Morg is~ heading to Balbadd so that you can take a boat back to your hometown, right?" asked the blue-haired Magi as they walked.

Morgiana stayed silent for a moment, before she said, "Yes… and… I wanted to meet you, Tettia and Alibaba again. I wanted to thank you…"

"Awwww! Morg, you're just as cute as Laddin," gushed Tettia, who had found the two a few days prior.

Aladdin looked at Morgiana and he questioned, "Thank?"

"Yeah… what's there to thank us for?" questioned Tettia.

Morgiana nodded. "…That's right… by using the treasure, Alibaba liberated me from my social position… He liberated two slaves without asking anything in return. In order to fulfill our promise, I will return to our hometown where he could not. I will do what I want to do by my own will… before I met you three, I didn't think about anything. You three granted me a free future… I am really grateful… thank you, Aladdin, Tettia," she said with a gentle smile before she bowed before them.

Tettia and Aladdin flailed their arms, urging her that she did not have to bow to them. Smiling happily, the duo said, "Is that so… that's good. But, I think it's the same for Alibaba, we don't need any praise!"

The trio continued walking, Aladdin throwing his hands behind his head as he said, "I think that Alibaba is a kind person! Ah~ I really want to meet Alibaba soon…"

Tettia sighed happily at the thought of seeing Alibaba again, "Yeah~ me too, Laddin!"

Morgiana pointed down the path. "We'll meet him if we follow this road," she stated.

Turning their eyes towards the former slave, Aladdin and Tettia replied, "Yep. That's right!"

"At the end of this road is Ali's and his hometown!" exclaimed Tettia.

The trio still continued down the path. As they continued down the path to Balbadd, they came across a man. A handsome man, with long purple hair, who was bare. The trio looked at the man with blank expressions. "Hey, you guys! Nice weather today," he spoke, waving at the three.

Everyone jumped into a battle-stance, ready to beat the snot out of the naked man. "Morg, Tet, this is bad! Stand back!" exclaimed Aladdin. "It might be a monster! Leave this to me!"

"Huh!? No, you're wrong! Listen to me!" yelled the man, who did not feel like getting beat up today. Not after he had everything stolen from him.

A mysterious loud female voice came from the trees, yelling at the trio, "No! Don't listen to that idiot!"

The man looked up towards the trees. "Tora!? I was wondering where you went! Also, why shouldn't they listen to me?" he questioned the disembodied female's voice.

A loud sigh came as a reply, the female of whom the voice belonged to jumped down from a nearby tree. Her reddish pink eyes were narrowed as she glared at the man. "They shouldn't listening to you, moron, because you got drunk and fell asleep. Which, might I add, lead you to getting all your shit stolen from you! It was actually funny to watch," she said, walking up to and punching the man in the chest.

"Tora! You just sat there and watched as they took my stuff?!" asked the man.

Tora nodded, snickering, "Uhh… no shit, King Moron."

Tettia laughed, "I already like you."

Reddish pink eyes looked over towards the half-Fanalis. Holding out her hand, the purplenette spoke, "Hi there! I am Tora. Who're you?"

Tettia took Tora's hand and shook it. "I'm Tettia, but you can call me Tet," she said.

"Ahh! Nice ta meet ya, Tet! I can sense that you and I will be great friends," said Tora.

The half-Fanalis laughed, nodding her head. "Aye! I can sense that too!"

The five of them set up a campfire. Aladdin had given the naked man some clothes. "Thanks a lot for the clothes, Aladdin! _Someone_ didn't do her job properly," the man said, looking towards Tora (who was sitting by Tettia, snickering).

"Hey, piss off. You never told me to guard you, I'm just here," retorted Tora.

The purple-haired male sighed and said, " _Anyways_ , Tora's lack of care towards me aside… my name is Sin. I'm a merchant and I'm heading to Balbadd. And Tora was _supposed_ to make sure I didn't do anything stupid."

Tora scoffed, flipping a lock of her purple hair over her shoulder, "Peace off, Sin! I told you that I could've cared less if you got drunk, note that I also said that I was not going to save you if your drunk ass got into trouble."

Aladdin looked at Sinbad and spoke, apologizing, "I see… sorry for not listening to your story… There are many _dangerous things_ when crossing the desert so I've become cautious…"

That subtle emphasis had the _merchant's_ companion burst into a fit of hysteric laughter. "Oh my god! You got _that_ right! Sin is _totally_ a _dangerous thing_! He's a fucking twit as well as a ladies man! He really is _dangerous_ all right!" laughed Tora. Even Tettia was laughing as the purplenette said that.

Sinbad looked at Tora and Tettia. "Tora, I have no idea what on Earth you're talking about," he said.

Oh, that statement made Tora deadpan. "Oh, really? Remind me to ask Ja'far if I'm right when we get back to him and Massy," she said seriously.

Tettia looked at Tora with confusion. "Ja'far? Massy? Who now?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie! You'll meet Ja'far and my husband soon enough," retorted Tora.

"If you say so…"

"I _know_ so!" Tora said with a stupid smile.

Sinbad cleared his throat and then said, "Is that so, Aladdin, you're crossing the desert at that age?"

Punching the air, the young boy answered, "That's right! I've crossed the central desert from the Huang Fang Village in the Northern Plains! There are tons of rare plants and animals!"

"Is that so!" said Sin.

Tettia looked at Aladdin and gasped, "No way!"

"Oh no… I love adventurous tales like that," said Aladdin.

The half-Fanalis fell off her log at his answer. She had really believed him, after all, with Aladdin, he could have gone to the ends of the Earth without her. And Tettia had not been with him for a while, she just stumbled upon him walking with Morgiana almost four days back. "You can't pull my leg like that, Laddin!" she exclaimed.

Sinbad smiled and looked down at the ground. "That uplifting feeling that come from seeing unknown land and the knowledge that you come across… nothing can replace it," he began.

Tora groaned loudly, "Oh no! Please, Sin. Don't."

The purple-haired man continued anyways, "It opens a path from which self-confidence. experience, and important friendships from sharing the life-or-death situations, are born! But hearing it just isn't the same… I want to create my own magnificent story! A great adventure! Because an adventure… is a man's romance!"

"No… it's just _your_ romance, Sin," retorted Tora, who was rolling her eyes at his winded speech. Aladdin looked at the man with sparkles in his eyes, as did Tettia; Tora noticed this and groaned, "No! Don't buy into his sack of shit, Tet!"

They were interrupted when Morgiana said, "Umm… aren't we hurrying to Balbadd? We wanted to arrive before nightfall, but…"

"She is right, we did," Tettia said.

Sinbad looked at Morgiana and said, "Oh! I'm sorry, miss! We got a bit carried away with talking about adventures."

Everyone stood up and Tora hit Sinbad upside the head, "Don't act like you're sorry! You're _gonna_ be sorry when I tell Ja'far you passed out drunk and got everything stolen!"

Aladdin decided a little tint of cuteness as he said, referring to Sinbad's statement about getting carried away, "I know. I understand how you feel!"

"So do I," Tettia said with a huge smile.

Sinbad looked at Morgiana and Tettia. Once they noticed, both Fanalis asked, "Umm… what is it?"

"I was just thinking about this meeting with such lovely young ladies and how interesting this journey has been so far," replied Sinbad, smiling at the two.

Morgiana gasped cutely and said, "I see…"

Tora laughed, "The only three reasons why it's been interesting is because you got fucking robbed, we meet new friends, and two of those three new friends just so happened to be fucking girls. That way you can hit on them. Odds are, one would hit on you back. It's interesting for me because when we get to Balbadd, I get to fucking tell on you to Ja'far! Oh! And I get to see Massy!"

"Hey, are we there yet?" asked Aladdin with a cute smile.

Both Sinbad and Tora nodded and pointed over the hill. "Just over that hill, you'll be able to see the town," the both said.

"Really? It's not invisible?" Aladdin asked as he ran towards the hill, Tettia following close behind him.

Morgiana walked casually over to the two friends. "I can smell the sea…"

"So this is… Balbadd!" exclaimed Aladdin. The three friends looked at Balbadd, which looked to be a fine country. People walked around the place.

Tora walked up behind Tettia, transformed into a snake, and slithered up to rest on the half-Fanalis's shoulder. "Yeah… that'sssss Balbadd…" she said.

Tettia looked at the little red snake that Tora had transformed into. "Balbadd is basically just a city, anyways. It, honestly, should be too small to be recognized as a country, but what can you do?" sighed Tettia.

"I feel ya, Tettia," said Tora. "But, you have to remember that thissssss country issssss a great oceanic nation."

Tettia nodded, sighing, "Yeah…"

Balbadd was part of the Northern oasis countries and had been trading with the Western Partevia since long ago, that allowed it to flourish. Various races. A blend of cultures. Balbadd once differed from surrounding countries, but, though it had changed, it still held the feeling of a country.

Aladdin happily walked through the streets, followed by Sinbad, Tettia and Morgiana. Tora had since moved to Sinbad's shoulder, as she knew him more and did not want to creep out Tettia by remaining on the half-Fanalis's shoulder for too long. "For generations, the Saluja Clan has been the ruling family which served wholeheartedly for the country. However, since the last king passed away… the country has become disheveled," said Sinbad as they walked.

"Dissssssssheveled… more like… utterly dissssssgraceful," said Tora.

Sinbad stopped and threw his arm in the air, signaling to his new friends to look up. "But it's safe here. And I always stay at the country's best luxury hotel!"

Morgiana looked down at the ground. "But, I'm worried about the cost… I worked for a caravan for the past 6 months, so I have money, but I don't have _that_ much…" she said.

"Me too," said Aladdin and Tettia.

Sinbad smiled and said, "Don't worry about anything. Leave the charges to me. It's my way of thanking you for helping me. My subordinates should've arrived before us, so they'll pay. I really like this place, so I hope you'll stay here tonight."

Aladdin and Tettia's eyes lit up, meanwhile, Morgiana's widened. "R-really?!" Tettia exclaimed.

The bluenette threw his hand into the air and exclaimed, "Thank you~ you're rich, aren't you!"

"During travels, even heroic young men need a helping hand…" Tora said.

Sinbad smiled and then walked into the hotel… in the clothes much too small for him. "Alright! Then, I should head to my own room!" he said.

Tora had jumped off the purple-haired man and transformed back into a human. "MASSY! I'M HERE, ASSHOLE! COME LOVE ME!" she yelled, walking into the hotel.

Almost immediately, people were trying to stop him, exclaiming, "Hey you! You're suspicious!"

Sinbad pointed at himself. "Huh!? How am I suspicious!?" he asked.

"You're suspicious no matter how I fucking look at you!" exclaimed Tora, looking around for her husband. Standing off away from Sinbad were the two men she had been looking for. Tora gasped and ran over to them as she said, "Found ya, bitches!"

Tettia laughed Tora's statement. "That's funny," she said.

"Hey, Tora. You're both here…" Tora's husband, _Massy_ , said.

Sighing, Ja'far said, "Honestly… what too you two so long…"

Tora hung on _Massy's_ arm. " _Weeeeellll_ , a lot happened, actually. More importantly, we made new friends. Ask Sin where we've been," she said.

"Lord Sin, where have you been until now?" asked Ja'far.

Wearing a smug grin, Tora looked at Ja'far, "Oh! I forgot to mention that this dumbass got drunk, passed out and got all his shit stolen… again."

Tettia, Aladdin and Morgiana looked at the two subordinates. Tettia noticed the man Tora was hanging off of, he was a Fanalis, too. And just like herself, the male Fanalis had a lip piercing just below his lip.

"… I see… so our master has caused you some trouble," said Ja'far, smiling at the trio, "In accordance with our master's wishes, leave the hotel charges to us."

Aladdin and Tettia threw their arms into the air. "Thank you! Subordinate brothers!" they exclaimed cheerfully.

Ja'far turned his gaze to Sinbad. "Now, please don't stray from us again. Tora, next time, please guard this idiot," he said.

"Aye aye, captain," Tora said.

Sinbad waved at the trio. "See ya later, Aladdin and Morgiana and Tettia! Let's eat something together tomorrow!" said the purple-haired man as he was pushed off by his trio.

The other trio turned away from Sinbad being pushed away. _Massy_ looked back and the three pairs of crimson red eyes met one another.

"… as I thought, that girl, the smaller one, bothers me! The taller one seems fine, she does not bother me," Sinbad said.

"They're both Fanalis… the smaller being a purebred and the taller one being a half-breed," said Tora.

Sinbad nodded in agreement. "I was surprised, too. You would never expect that we could get to know three Fanalis."

 _Massy_ stood stoic and said, "Yes. Well, it is uncommon."

"I see. I was also surprised when I first met you, Masrur," Ja'far said with a smile.

Tora laughed at the white-haired male. "Really?! I wasn't in the slightest!"

"We know… that's why you got married to him," said Ja'far.

"True, true!"

Ja'far looked at Sin and said, "By the way, Sin, it can't be that all of your luggage got stolen again like Tora said, right?"

Sinbad laughed at Ja'far. "Oh, no. Tora's quite right. It got stolen," he said simply.

The white-haired man pulled at blank expression and he began, "… everything but your clothes… no way… even all the tools…!?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Sinbad said, "Everything was stolen…"

Tora laughed as Ja'far buckled but then almost immediately started to throttle the reckless King of his. "You… Did you _somehow_ forget…!? Did you forget how this country is DYING!?" yelled Ja'far.

"It's fine, it's fine," replied Sinbad, rubbing his neck after Ja'far let him go.

"IT'S NOT FINE!" retorted Ja'far.

Tora was rolling on the floor, she lived for moments like this. "Well, somehow or another, leave it to me!" said Sinbad.

The look on Ja'far's face was least than pleased, Masrur's remained stoic. "Honestly, you…" he muttered. Sinbad sat down as Ja'far continued, "When will you become aware that you were born to be king? _King_ _Sinbad_!"

"Don't expose that~~~!" said Sinbad.

Tora laid on the floor, looking up at the three men. "You do need to take your fucking job seriously, Sinbad," she said.

"Oh, like how you took your job of making sure my stuff didn't get stolen earlier seriously?" retorted the king.

"Again, you fucking knew I wasn't gonna do that. Don't put this bullshit on me, sir!" yelled Tora.

Masrur looked down at Tora. "Don't argue…" he said.

Gushing, Tora replied, "Okay~!"

"This is your room," a employee said as she opened the door to Aladdin, Morgiana and Tettia's room.

Aladdin bounded into the room, exclaiming, "Waaaaah! It's gorgeous!" He ran over to one of the beds and jumped onto one.

Morgiana also looked at one of the beds, claiming it. "If there's anything you don't understand, please don't hesitate to ask," said the employee.

"Then, Miss, I have a question for you…" Aladdin said, smiling. Morgiana and Tettia walked over to the young bluenette's bed.

The female replied, "Yes, what is it?"

"Do you know a guy named Alibaba? He's my friend," he said.

At the mention of the name, the employee dropped what she was holding. Bending down, she picked up what she dropped. "Excuse me, that name just surprised me a bit. Now that I think about it, that name isn't so uncommon. Your friend has the same name as a famous person in this country…"

"A famous person…?" Tettia and Aladdin asked.

The female nodded, "Right now, _Balbadd's Alibaba_ … refers to… _Wonder Man Alibaba…_ this country's number one criminal."

"What?!" Tettia exclaimed. "No freaking way!? I'm _so_ going to beat the shit out of that dumbass when I see him next!"

Night fell quickly, the night was hectic. Eventually, they all passed out, well, save for Tettia. Tettia had chosen to sleep in the bed with Aladdin, yet she could not fall asleep. _Ali's s fucking criminal now, eh? Now I have go find this idiot…_ she thought to herself. Coming to a final decision, Tettia silently slipped out of bed. "I'm sorry… I have to do this… see you soon, Laddin," she said barely above a whisper as she kissed his cheek. After having done that, Tettia silently slipped out of the room and out of the hotel.

 _To find that idiot Alibaba! He is going to get such a tongue-lashing when I sniff his ass out!_ thought a determined Tettia as she began tracking down that goofy blond she possibly loved.


	10. Where is Tettia?

**Chapter Ten: Where is Tettia?!**

* * *

"Good morning, Morg. Morning, Tet," yawned a just-woken-up Aladdin. Sleepy tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

Morgiana sat up in her bed. "Though, it's already noon…" she said.

"Mmm… is Tet still sle—" he asked and then stopped. "Where is she?"

"What do you mean? Tettia should be right…" Morgiana looked on the other side of Aladdin, where Tettia should have been, only to find that she was not there, "… there… beside you…"

As Aladdin got ready, Morgiana said, "By the way, about the conversation last night…?"

"About _Wonder Man Alibaba_?" the young Magi said. "I'm sure it's a different person!"

"ALIBABA SALUJA! You have explaining to do, mister!" exclaimed Tettia as she finally managed to find the blond. It had not taken her too terribly long, she left soon after midnight and found Alibaba by six in the morning.

The blond whipped around to face her. "T-tettia?! What are you doing here?!"

Marching over to the blond, passed several people she did not know, Tettia grabbed him by the rope necklace — which was her signature at that point — and pulled him closer to her face. The same procedure every single time Alibaba did something stupid. "And just what the hell, might I ask, have you been doing?! We split up for a few months and you go and become a goddamn thief?! _Wonder Man Alibaba_?!" she exclaimed, almost flipping out. Her crimson eyes bored directly into Alibaba's golden ones.

Alibaba sweat-dropped as the people around him looked at the two with raised eyebrows. "Look, calm down, Tettia…" he said, throwing his hands up in defense.

"No! I refuse to calm the fuck down! What are you doing, you idiot?! Is this what you go and do if I leave your side for, like, two fucking months?!"

"I can explain this… I really can… I promise," the blond replied, trying to convince the red-head to calm down.

That was when a young man with black dreadlocks in a half-ponytail stepped closer to the duo. "Umm… not to be rude, but who exactly are you?" the young man said semi-coldly.

Tearing her eyes away from Alibaba and pulling herself away from him slightly, Tettia gazed at the young man. "I'm Ali's really good friend, Tettia is my name. Who are you?" she asked.

"Well, I'm Cassim," Cassim introduced himself. "Also, how did you find this place?"

Tettia looked back at Alibaba and said, "I'm not done with you yet, mister," before she let go of his rope necklace. Turning to Cassim, Tettia spoke calmly, "I found this place because tracked Alibaba here… don't worry, I came alone. I masked my scent so my other friends couldn't find me. See, I'm a half-blooded Fanalis and therefore I have an enhanced sense of smell; the reason I masked my scent was because my other friend is a pureblood Fanalis, so… yeah."

Cassim looked at Alibaba. "Do you think we should keep her around? She knows where our hideout is, if she leaves, she could tell our enemies where we are. We would have to kill her," he said.

Tettia laughed and put a hand up. "Ahem, excuse me… I'm still here ya know. Plus, you won't have a need to worry about me _leaving_ or anything like that, because I ain't leaving until Ali leaves," she said with a smile.

"Wait, excuse me?!" exclaimed Alibaba.

The half-Fanalis rolled her eyes. "You heard me, pretty boy. You, obviously, cannot last two fucking days without getting into trouble with me gone. Therefore, as much as I love Aladdin and I hate being away from him, I want to stay by your side. Also, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Laddin and take care of himself while I'm gone," she said.

Alibaba looked at her weirdly. "Are you absolutely sure? Because, you do know that once you join us, you'll be a criminal, right?" he asked, making sure she did want this.

Putting her hands on her hips, a heavy sigh escape her lips, " _Yes_. I am absolutely sure. I don't care if I become a criminal… _you_ obviously need the help! Plus, I'm sure I'd have a much more fun time here with you than I will dealing with other matters around this country."

Cassim and Alibaba shared a glance before Cassim sighed, "Fine, fine, she can join us. Welcome to the Fog Troupe, Tettia. Don't mess up, or I _will_ kill you."

"Aye aye, sir! I won't mess up! Now… what are we doing?" asked Tettia. "Also, would it be okay if I stole Alibaba for a few?"

"Well, we were just going over our attack strategy for the attack tonight," said Cassim. "Also, I suppose I don't care if you steal Alibaba… for a few minutes. We will hold off on discussing the strategy until you and he return."

Tettia smiled and grabbed Alibaba by the rope and dragged him into the hallway. "Come on, boy… you have some explaining to do. Thanks again, Cassim. Oh, and by the way, I think you're pretty cute," she said with a smile, closing the door.

"Uhh… thanks… I guess?" said Cassim. He looked at his troops, who just shrugged, all just as confused at he was.

Once the duo were far enough away from the room where the others would not hear them, which was in a room about twenty feet away from the previous one, Tettia got serious again. "All right," she said and lightly threw the blond against a wall in the room. "One, you're a fucking idiot. Two, if I had know _this_ is what you were gonna do, I wouldn't've left your side. Three, you're _soo_ lucky I took a liking to you or so help me, I would have killed you by now."

Alibaba rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… I know… this kinda just… well, happened. I came back to take care of some business…"

"And _what a way_ to go about that, Ali! _Really_ , wonderful _fucking_ job!" Tettia pinched the bridge of her nose as she continued, "So instead of dealing with this _business_ in a civilized manner, you resort to becoming the leader of a damn group of thugs? Geez, why are you so… _ugh!_ I can't deal with your idiocy right now. But… for some reason, I… uggggghh!"

He titled his head in confusion. "What?"

She laughed, "I don't know _why_ but for some _fucking_ reason, I can't bring myself to cause you harm. As much as you deserve it."

"So, that's a good thing, I take it," he said with a smile.

Tettia groaned, "Ugh!" She was frustrated, she wanted to hit Alibaba for being a twit, but her feelings towards him made her not. Sighing heavily, she looked at him. "…you're lucky I just might have feelings for you…" she muttered to herself, crossing her arms and pouting.

Alibaba smiled, looking at her with his arms also crossed. "What was that, Tet?" he asked.

Tettia rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder. "None of business, that's what! As for that explanation I demanded earlier… forget it. I won't demand it… but if we cross Aladdin's path before your business here is done, he will demand answers… so, I hope you'll be ready for that," she said, placing a hand on the blond's shoulder.

Looking at the ground, the blond spoke, "I don't know if I'd be ready for that…"

Smiling softly, Tettia said, "Well… you're gonna have to make sure you're ready… because I held up my end of the deal."

The blond sighed, "I'll try to be prepared…"

Tettia smiled and kissed his cheek. "That's all you can do. Now, how about we go back to that meeting… I have no idea what we're planning," she said.

Blushing, Alibaba nodded. "Y-yeah… we should go back. I'm pretty sure we've been gone more than a _few minutes_ ," he said.

"Yeah… they're probably thinking we are doing _something else_ than just talking. Hehe~ showing yourself around _Alibaba Park_ , perhaps," the red-head said through a devious smirk.

The blond laughed nervously, "Y-yeah… d-don't need them thinking we're close like _that_ …"

Dragging him by the necklace, Tettia lead the duo out of the room they were in and back down the hallway. "There's nothing wrong with them thinking that. I have hinted towards it more than enough, we might as well be. Not to mention, I saved your ass from that ugly-looking hostess back in Chishan," spoke Tettia, looking over her shoulder.

Alibaba remained silent, a blush still on his face. _Tet's not wrong… she did save my ass back then and has hinted at us being more. Though… I'm not sure…_ thought the blond as he looked at the back of Tettia's head. A sudden thought hit him: Tettia's hair looked soft, but was it as soft as it appeared. Before he knew it, Tettia had opened the door and the two re-entered the room; Cassim's golden eyes looking at them. "Welcome back… I was about to send someone for you both," he said.

"Nah, no need. I apologize, our talk ran a little long… I seemed to forget about time," Tettia spoke as she let Alibaba go.

"I can understand that. Now, back the the attack plan," Cassim said, turning his attention to the layout of a merchant's mansion; the merchant who they would be stealing from later that night.

Tettia listened intently to the plan. Two of Cassim's old friends, Zaynab and her husband Hassan were to take some men and go in first. Cassim, Alibaba, Tettia and some more men would go ahead and rob another place slightly before Zaynab and her wave were to begin their attack; afterwards, Cassim's unit was to report as backup to Zaynab's unit. The goal was to take as much wealth as they could grab and give it back to the people of the _slums_ — those people who were left to starve by Balbadd's current king, Ahbmad Saluja.

"This is a pretty well thought out battle plan. I've never really thought this much about something I am doing… but then again, I guess since we're thieves, we need a well thought out plan," said Tettia.

Cassim laughed at her statement. "You've never had to steal before, have you?" he asked.

Tettia blushed in embarrassment and muttered, "Is it _that_ obvious…?"

"Don't worry, kid, stick with us and we'll show ya the ropes! And also how to properly steal without being caught or killed," Zaynab said, smirking at the newbie.

Tettia nodded. "Okay, I would really like that! I need more skills under my belt."

"What kind of skills?!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Snickering, Tettia replied, "Naughty ones… what the fuck do you think? Nah, I'm talking about legit skills like robbery and shit like that. Sometimes, being a pickpocket can pay off, ya know."

Alibaba looked at her, "O-oh… okay then…"

"I can't believe you actually want you girl to learn naughty skills for you, Alibaba," said Cassim, who looked at his blond friend with amusement.

"I-I don't! She just likes to tease me!"

"And that's a bad thing, Ali? You seem to like it when I tease you profusely," said Tettia.

Alibaba blushed, "I do not!"

Cassim laughed, "I think you're lying to yourself."

"Shut up, Cassim!" exclaimed Alibaba.

"Right now I do not have any metal vessels!" exclaimed Sinbad, looking at the young Magi and his other Fanalis friend.

Tora was laughing hysterically, "That of which is _your_ fucking fault, by the way!"

"We aren't going to assign blame here, Tora," retorted Sinbad.

Ja'far looked at the purple-haired king with a cold look in his eyes. "Oh yes we are. All seven were stolen from you," he said.

Sinbad waved it off and asked the Magi, "Would you be willing to lend us your power and help us capture the _Fog Troupe_?"

Aladdin and Morgiana looked at the king. "Capture the _Fog Troupe_!?" asked Aladdin.

"Yes. Join forces with us so that the _Fog Troupe,_ which is causing a disturbance in this country can be brought to justice," said the purple-haired king.

Tora stopped laughing and placed a hand on his shoulder, her grip on his shoulder was that of a death-grip. "Whoa, wait a second! Just what the fuck did you drink last night, Sin?! He's still a damn kid," she exclaimed in an irritated tone.

Nodding in agreement and looking harshly at Sinbad, Ja'far said in an equally annoyed voice, "Exactly! What nonsense are you saying!? We can't get a _child_ involved with this, you know!" The white-haired man stood in front of the young bluenette and continued, "How could you ask such a young child to undergo such dangers?"

"Yeah! How the hell could you expect him to agree," growled the pinkish red-eyed purplenette. She let Sinbad's shoulder out of her vice-grip, only to punch a hole in the nearby brick wall. "Now, if my fucking instant best friend Tet were still around, we could have damned well asked her; but that bitch decided to go missing!"

Sinbad smiled an open-mouthed grin as he replied, "… but ages doesn't matter, does it? The most important point is whether they have the capability of facing the thieves or not. Aladdin is a _Magi_. Just as you both see here, he wields power beyond imagination." The king signaled to Ugo as he continued, "Although he is still a child, his capability already far surpasses that of a fully grown adult. I was 14 when I first captured a _dungeon_. It was said that thousands had died in that dungeon. Since then, my experiences during those repeated voyages, adventures and life-threatening fights have become my weapon in those years where survival wasn't guaranteed. What is needed is power. To stay alive when challenging unknown worlds, you need an ability that surpasses everyone else's! He has that power. You both should be able to see it too, right?"

Ja'far and Tora shared a look before they looked back at Sinbad. "Fine…" Ja'far finally caved.

Tora sighed heavily, still pissed off at her idiot king's decision, "You're lucky you have a damn good compelling argument, King Moron."

Now they waited for the young Magi's answer. He put his hands behind his back and said, "Mister said to get rid of the thieves… Morg, what should we do?"

Morgiana thought for a few moments. "Let's join them," she answered.

"Are we going to?" asked Aladdin.

The purebred Fanalis answered, "Yes. That is because… the ship to the _Dark Continent_ was halted due to the _Fog Troupe_. Once the _Fog Troupe_ is taken down, the harbor will probably resume its activities. Furthermore, according to our previous conversation, this man is familiar with Balbadd's King. If we managed to solve this problem, we can borrow the country's resources to aid us in our search for Alibaba… and now, Tettia."

Morgiana's answer made Sinbad smile. "Oh~. Morgiana is clever. Completely different from you who resolves everything through brute force," he exclaimed, patting Masrur on the back, laughing as he did so.

Masrur remained stoic and quiet, while Tora growled at their king. "Are you saying I'm not clever, either, _Sin_?" she questioned in a dangerous voice, fire in her eyes. Everyone from Sindria knew that the one thing to avoid was calling Tora an idiot. Sure, she did have those moments, but everyone has those moments.

Sinbad was quick to defend himself, "No! Not at all! Plus, why would I say that you aren't clever, Tora?"

Cracking her knuckles, Tora replied, "I dunno, _Sin_ … but you know I like to resolve things through brute force too!"

"Tora, don't even think about punching Lord Sin. Please," sighed Ja'far.

"You _always_ ruin my fun, Ja'far!" yelled Tora as she instead punched yet another hole in the nearby wall. After she did that, she hung off Masrur's arm, "Massy~~~! Love me~~!"

Masrur looked at her and ruffled her purple hair. "You know I do, Tora," he stoically said.

Leaving Tora and Masrur to their own thing, Morgiana looked up at Sinbad and said, "Before we lost Tet, we were looking for someone, and now we're looking for two people; surely you can request the king to help us."

With his golden eyes casted down at the purebred Fanalis and a smile, Sinbad assured, "Of course. I will ask the king of Balbadd to send people to search the entire nation. Furthermore, I will arrange a boat to the Dark Continent. How does that sound?"

Aladdin was quick to shake the king's hand, exclaiming, "Yeah! We'll help with _taking care of those thieves_!"

Sinbad was happy as he said, "Then we have an agreement! Let's draw up a strategy, Aladdin!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Aladdin, who was following behind Sinbad. Morgiana was following after them as well.

Sinbad stopped and said, "As for Morgiana! Why don't you just stay at the hotel and wait for us?"

That stopped the Fanalis in her tracks. Why would she do that? She was perfectly capable of fighting as well. "Um… I can fight, too…" she answered.

King Sinbad waved her statement off. "No, even if you are a Fanalis, I can't let a girl fiii– as young as yourself fight. Just leave this matter to us and Aladdin; you just wait that the hotel! All right!" he caught himself before he said _I can't let a girl fight_ , but he knew better than to say that. The purple-haired king knew that Tora would have punched him as hard as she could and would have also proclaimed that she was going to be going anyways; therefore, to avoid all that, he just adjusted what he was going to say. In addition to saying that, he began to push Morgiana away.

Morgiana, of course, had no intention of not fighting with them. Stomping her foot, she broke the brick road beneath her and that caused them to stop. With cheeks puffed out angrily and her eyes narrowed, Morgiana said, "I want to fight, too! I'm already prepared, so no matter how big that band of thieves is, I can get rid of them just the same."

Tora whooped, "Atta girl! To hell with you sending her home, Sin; she will not be hearing any of the bullshit!"

"Morg is very strong! Just the other day, she took care of the band of thieves that was occurring the rock quarry. When I was captured, it was her who rescued me, too," stated Aladdin.

That surprised Sinbad. "Wha-!? She singlehandedly defeated the band of thieves that even captured a Magi? Fanalis sure are strong…" he said weakly.

"You really fucking doubted the power of the Fanalis, Sin?" questioned Tora, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Everyone was sitting in a room so that they could devise a strategy. Tora was sitting in Masrur's lap, who was sitting to the left of Sinbad; Morgiana sat to the left of Masrur and Tora; Aladdin sat to the right of Sinbad. "Since everyone is assembled, let's start the meeting… I'll leave it to you, Ja'far!" exclaimed Sinbad, getting his meeting on the road.

Ja'far stood on the opposite side of the table, furthest away from the group. "Thank you… then, I'll now explain what the information I have gathered from the residents and military tells us about when and where those robbers tend to attack. Firstly, they only act on foggy nights. Balbadd often suffers from fog. When the sea wind blows across the hills, fog usually forms. The thieves take advantage of this fog to hide their actions. Secondly, their aim is the country's treasury and the rich. They act in groups of at least ten, but no more than a hundred people. Having stolen the food, weapons, and goods, they then disperse. Thirdly, a point which many people have noticed is that they always manage to hit areas that are weakly guarded. As you can understand from this, the chances of an inside information leak are very high," he explained, pointing to a certain area of the map of Balbadd.

Everyone looked on intently and Ja'far continued, "But, the most troublesome part of the problem, however, is that a large majority of the residents support them. So, once they disperse into town, it becomes impossible to track them down."

That peaked Aladdin's interest. "Even though they are thieves, the residences support them?" he asked.

"Yeah, the hell is up with that?" asked Tora, who was also kind of thrown off by that tidbit of information.

Sighing, Ja'far answered, "Yes. This is because they distribute the stolen items among the poor, so they are known as _virtuous thieves_. This has won them the hearts of the people. And the one who is the most popular of them all… is the leader known as _Wonder Man Alibaba_."

Aladdin gasped as he thought. Could it truly be the Alibaba he knew? No way. _No, Alibaba could never be the leader of these thieves_ , thought the boy.

Everyone had stood up and moved to stand beside Ja'far. "Question: if the citizens support these dumbasses, is it really alright to capture the hellhounds?" questioned Tora.

"… I understand where you're coming from, Tora. The _Fog Troupe_ is well-known as virtuous thieves. This means that they are thieves who act against perceived injustices. Furthermore, the fact that they distribute the stolen items from the country's treasury to the poor has earned them the support from the people. But, this is got me thinking… what if they performed those righteous actions just to gain popular support… or others ulterior motives. … Well, because of who and what I am, I'll think about all sides before arriving at a conclusion I feel is correct. Think about it before deciding for yourself," began Sinbad, getting up from his seat. "I hope you can give it the needed consideration, so you can differentiate between what is right and wrong… and that you can believe in whatever you have attained for yourself. This is how I've paved my way… how about you?" he finished, the butt end of his speech directed towards Aladdin and Morgiana.

Ja'far was smiling at Sinbad; Masrur remained stoic as ever; Tora was actually impressed at the winded speech; Morgiana stared at him with her usual stoic look; and Aladdin gulped, impressed at the king's words. "I'll think about it," he said.

"… me, too," said Morgiana.

Sinbad nodded, he had not expected them to have an answer or even an opinion at that very moment. "Alright."

The sun at set and nightfall was upon the capital city of Balbadd. Sinbad and his band of fighters were all stationed at a wealthy merchant's mansion. Members of the Balbadd Army were also there, to keep an eye out for trouble. "What about the main entrance?" one soldier asked his comrades.

"There is nothing unusual," answered another soldier.

One of the soldiers pointed at Aladdin as he said, "Hey, take a look… why is there a child here?"

Aladdin looked at the soldiers with his mouth slightly agape. Meanwhile, Ja'far gazed at the soldiers with coldness in his black eyes. "As the army is weak, there are only two areas that are easy targets for the _Fog Troupe_ , like this area," he said.

"Then what about the other area?" asked Aladdin.

Ja'far smiled as he answered, "Sin, the Fanalis Masrur and Tora are already acting as guards to watch the area there."

"I see… will Mister Sinbad be okay? He has no power right now… but the _Fog Troupe_ can use mysterious powers, right?"

"He'll be fine. After all, he is _The King of the Seven Seas_. He is already used to seeing mysterious powers," retorted Ja'far with a chuckle.

Meanwhile, at a noble's mansion in Balbadd, Tora, Masrur and Sinbad were guarding. Well, mostly. "Achoo!" sneezed Sinbad, who was shivering. "So cold… Southeastern countries are so cold on foggy nights…" he complained.

Masrur, who was holding a lantern, replied, "That's true."

"Yeah! Fuck this! This is nothing like home! When can we go back~~?" exclaimed Tora, who was latched onto Masrur's back like a koala.

Sinbad got behind Masrur. "Idiot, stop moving around!" he demanded.

Tora swatted at Sinbad, hissing almost, "Hey! Stop using my man as your fucking shield against the wind, asshole!"

"Hypocrite! How come you can use him as a wind-shield, but I can't?" whined Sinbad.

"Because Massy is _MY_ fucking husband, not yours! I get to do this, comes with the joy of having me as a wife," retorted the purplenette.

That made Sinbad scoff, " _Joy_ , huh?"

"Yes! Joy! Something you'll never have from a fucking amazing wife like myself!"

"Well, I'm not looking, thank you very much!"

That caused Tora to roll her eyes. "Yeah… you have the best damn time with those fucking one-night stands you have all the time back home," she said.

Their little argument was cut short when the fat nobleman yelled at them, with a chicken leg in his hand and women on his arms, "Hey, you down there! Guard the area _properly_! For goodness' sake… just because the army doesn't have enough manpower, they sent three guards and one's a woman, making me _so_ worried that I lost my appetite!" After that, he walked away, munching on his food.

"He's still eating non-stop, though," Masrur said.

Tora groaned, "I fucking know, right?! _'Making me so worried that I lost my appetite'_ , yeah… o-fucking-kay then, jack-off!"

"Eating warm food in a warm room… what a social status he has," said Sinbad.

The three heard the pitter-pattering of feet on brick and look back. "Hm?" hummed both Sinbad and Tora. As the figure neared, they noticed it was a woman who was swaying side-to-side as if she were drunk. Either drunk or delirious from starvation. Also, a heavy and thick fog came with the woman.

Sinbad, Tora and Masrur approached the woman. Sinbad reached out to her as he asked, "Hey, are you alright?" The woman did my respond in the form of words just yet, instead she replied by lunging a dagger at the king. "What?" questioned the purple-haired man.

That was when more people came running towards the trio. Surrounding the trio, the group of people closed off any means of escape. "Well, well, well…" started Tora, "the fucking _Fog Troupe_ finally revealed itself, did it?"

"The fog is blocking our vision is making it hard to understand the situation!" Sinbad said.

Masrur stepped towards a nearby tree. "Understood… Tora, mind getting off for a bit?"

"Nope! You do your damn thing, honey," she said, hoping off her husband's back.

Looking at the tree, Masrur picked it up, tearing it from its roots. He used the tree to defog the area. The trio were faced with weapon-wielding citizens who all stood raggedly before them. It was at that moment that Sinbad realized that these people were not the Fog Troupe like he had initially thought. The woman who first tried to attack Sinbad spoke, "Y-you are… are you with this mansion? If you try to stop us… we'll kill you…! We are just here to steal food! My daughter will die of hunger is she doesn't eat today! This child is the third. I don't want to lose any other children because of the high taxes of this country!"

"Do we honestly look like we'd _willingly_ be helping the fat cunt who lives here? Also, really sorry for your losses… that had to rip you apart on the inside," said Tora, who noticed the skin-and-bone arm of the infant in the woman's arms. "My fucking word… Sin, this country is a damn waste of time! We'd have to kill the fat-ass king to remedy this heaping mass of shit he selfishly got his country into," she whispered to Sinbad.

That was when the nobleman came back by the window and noticed the poverty-stricken, corpse-like residents of the other part of the city. "Hmph… aren't these residents of the slums!? Shoo! You all stink! I'll give you this, so just go somewhere else," he exclaimed, throwing his half-eaten drumstick out the window.

All of their dead and gleam-less eyes looked at the piece of food, of which looked like none of them had seen food in years, and the woman holding her infant dropped to the ground and reached for it. Sinbad whipped back to try and stop her, but Tora had beaten him too it. Gently, which was uncharacteristic for her, Tora grabbed the woman's wrist. "There ain't a need for this shit. Go into that fucking mansion and take as much as you like. I don't care if you kill them or not, they deserve death," she said.

"Don't listen to her, she doesn't like people with as much contempt as the noble's of this country. Please promise to spare the lives of the people there," quickly added Sinbad. He did not want a war to break out.

With that being said, the people looked angrily at the nobleman as they stormed his house, taking all the food they wanted. Who was panicking, "Hey! Stop iiiit! Damn it — that guard! Guard properlyyy!"

"Is that all right?" questioned Masrur as they just let the starving residents take what they pleased.

Tora sighed, crossing her arms, "I don't care. Those poor people deserve that food."

"We've only promised to capture the Fog Troupe. … This country may be beyond hope already…" said Sinbad.

At the merchant's mansion, a thick fog rolled in as well. "Reports say that the noble's house was attacked," said a soldier.

"Thank goodness… then we should he safe here tonight," said another.

"It may be the _Fog Troupe_ , let's give chase," said another.

Morgiana was running towards Aladdin. "Aladdin. I heard that the area Sinbad was guarding got attacked, what should we do…" she asked. Quickly noticing the utter lack of sounds or even people, she asked, "Where has… everyone gone…?"

As almost on cue, they materialized from the fog, Aladdin standing in the middle, smiling. "What are you smiling about…" one soldier asked in a very relaxed manner.

"I feel so relaxed, we should take it easy… Hihihi…" another laughed.

Aladdin smiled happily and thought to himself, _My entire body feels so light… being in the fog feels like being the clouds. Hu hu hu, I feel so happy. If only Ugo, Alibaba and Tet were here._

From within the fog came voices. "Aladdin… Aladdin…" came two familiar voices.

"Who's there?" asked Aladdin. The blue-haired Magi looked over in the direction of the voices and he saw shadows and asked, "Alibaba? Tet?" As the shadows came closer to the young Magi, he became five times happier. There he saw his two friends: the blond and red-head, walking towards him, for some reason holding hands. "Alibaba, Tet, it's you! Yay~ yay~! I am so happy I could finally see you again, Alibaba! It's been such a long time! I missed you and wanted to see you again for such a long time! Also, Tet, why did you leave?" he asked.

Alibaba and Tettia smiled at Aladdin, not saying a word. Morgiana covered her mouth as she looked at Aladdin from a distance. _Aladdin…? Who is he talking to?_ thought the Fanalis. As the fog cleared up more, she saw that nobody was there. That was when Morgiana noticed that something was weird with the mist and then jumped out of the mist. Landing on a roof, her eyes scanned the scene. Everyone was acting strange.

"They seem to be hallucinating," said Ja'far from behind her. The Fanalis quickly looked behind her. "Are you all right, Morgiana? Fanalis are sensitive to smell, so you were able to notice it earlier. This mist is slightly scarlet in color… its smell is also similar to that of poisonous plants which can cause paralysis. This is not humanly possible. It was likely done by using one of those _Mysterious powers_ they possess." Pointing to the source of the fog. "As you can see, our target, the _Fog Troupe_ , is at the source of this mist."

Zaynab spoke, "Don't breath in this mist. Put on your veil if you are afraid of breathing it in." The sword on her arm produced the scarlet mist.

Her husband, Hassan said in response, "He he, your scarlet mist is as terrifying as always, Zaynab."

"My magical weapon is called the Sword of the Scarlet Delusional Fog. It gives off a red mist that, when people breath it in, magnifies a person's uneasiness and hopes, causing hallucinations… Hmph… however, my mist will not work on people with a firm will. The military soldiers are just a bunch of wimps who always fall for it," Zaynab explained.

Tettia gasped, "Wow, that's amazing, Miss Zaynab!" The plans changed and Cassim had decided that Tettia should go with Zaynab and Hassan instead of with him and Alibaba. The half-blood Fanalis also decided it was best to hide her hair and the lower half of her face, just incase she came across the friends she left in order to find Alibaba.

Zaynab looked at Tettia and smiled. "I told you that you don't have to call me _Miss_ , just Zaynab. Also, we have reached the wealthy merchant's house. Hassan, it's your turn. Do your job!" she exclaimed.

"Ok, here I go," her husband said. He walked up to a wall and sliced it. Nothing happened at first, until sizzling noises came from the slash-mark, then it began to disintegrate. He smiled as he explained to Tettia, "My magical weapon is called the Sword of the Yellow Corrosive Fog. Its yellow acidic mist will eat through any area that I scratch with it in the blink of an eye! No matter how strong the wall is, making a hole is easy! Brothers, plunder away! Take back what they took from us!"

As men flooded into the hole in the wall, some kind of weapon was thrown at the men. "What?! It's the military?!" exclaimed Tettia.

"No, I'm not from this country… but I have reasons to capture all of you," said Ja'far.

Tettia looked back at the man and noticed his serious expression. _I have a weakness for serious men~ he's kinda cute even if he is threatening us_ , she thought.

Ja'far wrapped the men up in his wires. "Uwa! Let go of me!" yelled one man.

"Hindrance, I will kill you without mercy!" exclaimed Hassan.

Tettia held him back, as did Zaynab. "Wait… this guy is no ordinary human. Let's wait for Cassim's reinforcements," the two women said.

It was then that a black fog crept up on Ja'far. It became so heavy that the white-haired man fell to the ground. "You don't look like your from the military… Let go of my comrades!" said Cassim as he walked up with a serious look on his face.

Tettia and Zaynab were excited. "It's Cassim! Cassim's reinforcements have arrived!" exclaimed Zaynab.

"That mean's that Ali's here!" exclaimed Tettia, she hated being separated from the blond almost as much as she hated being away from her blue-haired friend.

"Serves you right! Cassim's black mist is heavier than lead. No one can move a single step in it," exclaimed Hassan.

Morgiana kicked a member of the Fog Troupe in the face and then bolted towards Cassim. "Cassim, danger!" yelled Zaynab.

Before Cassim could react, Tettia had kicked Morgiana in the side, sending her down. After the purebred Fanalis was down, Cassim used his black mist on her. Tettia's kick did not truly hurt her, because the half-Fanalis did not want to hurt her. "A girl…?" questioned Cassim.

"She's stronger than she looks, Cassim," said Tettia, crossing her arms.

Zaynab tended to the man Morgiana had kicked, "It doesn't matter who it is. Anybody who harms our comrades is an enemy!"

The black mist was not one-hundred percent effective on Morgiana. She was still able to move. "…this fog… although I can move… it feels too heavy… I can't lift my feet!" she exclaimed.

"That girl… can still move?!" questioned Hassan, panicking.

Cassim looked at Morgiana, forcing more black mist onto her. "Hmmph… you're the first one who can withstand a wave of my fog to this degree!" He sent another wave of black mist at her and that sent Morgiana into the ground. "Leave this two to me. Escape once you get what we want!"

"Okay!" exclaimed Tettia, who was walking over to Alibaba, who was frozen in his place. "Come one, Ali… I told you to prepare yourself for this…" she whispered to him.

Cassim looked back at the duo. "What's wrong, mate?"

"No… it's nothing," the blond said from behind his mask.

Aladdin slept, until Ugo woke him up. The young Magi woke up with a jolt. "Aladdin! Aladdin! You can't let them get away. Capture them!" exclaimed Ja'far.

The young boy looked confused, until he saw people running at him. He blew into his flute and Ugo appeared.

Both Hassan and Zaynab started to panic. "A monster…!"

"I won't let you pass!" exclaimed Aladdin from on top of Ugo.

"What is that blue giant…?!" exclaimed Hassan.

Zaynab added, "It's a monster created by the military to wipe us out!"

Tettia laughed as Alibaba remained silent. "This weak military can't create something like that thing. They're too fucking stupid, guys," she said.

After his friend said that, Alibaba stepped up, Tettia following him. "What's wrong, mates?" asked Cassim.

"Leave this to us," the masked duo said. Aladdin looked down at the group of thieves as the duo began to undo their masks. He gasped once they fully removed their masks to reveal his friends. Tettia and Alibaba.

"Alibaba…? Tet…?" questioned the young Magi. He was unable to believe that his two best friends had become criminals.

Cassim put a hand on one of Alibaba's and Tettia's shoulders. "Alibaba, Tettia, do you know him!?" he asked.

"Yeah," said the duo. They looked up at Aladdin. "Aladdin, it's been a long time. Can you put Ugo back? You are scaring our comrades," said Alibaba.

Tettia waved at him. "Yeah! Please!"

Aladdin did as Tettia and Alibaba had asked. "No! Don't listen to what the thief says!" exclaimed Ja'far.

Aladdin looked up at his two friends. "Erm, actually, I came here looking for you, Alibaba! I have so many things I want to tell you! Do you still remember that time? We, me, you and Tet, made a promise," he said with a smile.

The blond looked down at the bluenette with a serious look in his eyes. Tettia gushed, the blond knew how much she loved when he was serious. He stepped towards the young Magi, saying, "Aladdin… sorry," and held out his hand towards the young boy.

Tettia smiled as she walked beside the blond. "We… can't keep that promise," she said.

The bluenette's eyes widened at that. _They can't keep that promise…?_ he thought.

That was when reinforcements came. "It's the thieves! Take them down!" yelled a soldier.

"Reinforcements from the military have arrived," exclaimed Ja'far.

Cassim jumped into defensive position. "Hey, Alibaba, Tettia, time to escape!" he yelled.

"Got it," said Tettia.

"Leave it to me," spoke Alibaba. That was when he pulled out his knife. "Stern and dignified spirits of etiquette, in the name of my magic, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members. Come forth, Amon!" he exclaimed. A huge fireball came as an answer.


	11. Time for Explanations!

**Chapter Eleven: Time for Explanations**

* * *

Due the brightness of the fireball, the Fog Troupe managed to run away. Tettia looked back at her blue-haired friend. "I'm sorry, Laddin… until next time," she muttered. They, the Fog Troupe, successfully escaped and headed to their headquarters.

"Well, even though we almost got caught, I'd say that was a job-well-done. We got what we wanted and got the hell out of there," Cassim said.

Tettia punched the air in zeal, "Yeah! My first successful run!"

Cassim ruffled her red hair. "Congrats, mate," he said with a smile.

Later in the day, the Nando brothers were brought in front of the four big players in the Fog Troupe. "So you guys are wanted criminals too, huh? If you have nowhere to go, we're always open, so how about it?" said Cassim as he looked at the brothers.

Holding a cigar, Hassan spoke to the three, "That's right, there are no enemies in the Fog Troupe. This is the safest place."

"Plus, we're also looking for more comrades at the moment," said Zaynab, also smoking a cigar.

Turning his golden eyes towards Alibaba, Cassim said, "It's not like we dislike strong people joining, right, mate?" The black-haired man was also holding and smoking a cigar.

Alibaba was sitting down, his red-headed friend sitting beside him. "… Hey, the three of you… we're _chivalrous thieves_ and we're currently fighting against the military for the slums. You are not allowed to steal from or rape anyone and neither are you allowed to hurt anyone from the slums. If I find out you have done either… you'll receive _death_ as punishment. Do you understand," he said in a dangerously serious tone.

"Goodness… it really is hot when you're so serious, Ali," said Tettia, smiling stupidly at the blond.

A blush threatened to splatter across his cheeks, but Alibaba forced the flushness down. "Would you stop saying that…?! I'm trying to be serious here," he whisper-yelled at her.

Whispering back, Tettia replied, "Aww… why? I know you're trying to be serious… I just love to see you almost break character when I gush. It's attractive when you remain serious~!"

Alibaba shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Tet… you're impossible," he whispered.

"But you put up with me and my impossibility," she whispered back, smiling.

Looking over at her, the blond said, "I don't know how I do it…"

The oldest Nando brother replied vigilantly, "Of course, leader! With your consent, we'll serve you to our fullest!"

"Hey, I'm done talking, you can go now!" exclaimed Alibaba.

"Roger, leader!"

Exiting the basement of the hideout, Alibaba, Tettia and Cassim were walking together. "Hey~ Cassim, what _exactly_ is it you're planning?" asked the red-head.

Casting his golden gaze towards her, the black-haired man replied, "… What?"

Crossing her arms, Tettia retorted quickly, "You keep recruiting unknown people like those just now!"

"The number of people in our group has already doubled this month! Could it be that you're planning to start a war," exclaimed Alibaba, almost in an irritated manner.

Cassim looked at the two. " _War_ , huh… good idea there," he said, blowing out a puff of smoke.

The duo clearly both looked disturbed by that and exclaimed, "Hey!"

"Just joking, just joking. Geez, I at least thought Tettia would have gotten that joke. But we must continue to fight, because this country is already done for… economic breakdown, foreign interventions… and only those officials and nobles at the very top still enjoy three meals a day. We need _someone_ who can _punish_ those guys," he said seriously, pointing at Alibaba. "You are a leader, Alibaba. As leader, you should be aware of these things more quickly!"

"That's because of you—!" the blond retorted, but was cut short by children running at the three.

The kids were smiling and waving at the three. "Big brother Alibaba! Brother, welcome back! You've kicked the ass of the army again, right!?" they asked, hugging the blond. "Big brother Alibaba is so awesome!" another kid called out. They looked up to Alibaba, eyes sparkling as they said, "It's all thanks to Alibaba that everyone in the slums can now have two meals a day! Brother Alibaba is the hero of our slums!"

Tettia felt her heart melt. "Awww~" she gushed. Even though she completely disagreed with the blond becoming a thief, Tettia agreed with why he did it. People were suffering and he could not just sit by and watch, and neither could she. As her crimson eyes looked down at the children, her heart continued to melt. They were doing something right, that was for sure.

Cassim patted the blond's shoulder as he spoke, "Hey, mate. When we were as young as them… we had also already survived the hell of these slums for many years… the slums can't continued being like this. Especially since you are the only one who managed to escape this hell. The only person capable of changing life in the slums is you! Please, save those children… don't let them follow in my younger sister's footsteps! I beg you! Please don't go anywhere else, Alibaba! Stay by my side… and fight together with me like in the past!"

He was so passionate. Tettia felt her heart clench. "We have to stay, Ali…" she said.

"Yeah…" was the blond's response.

Alibaba and Tettia entered their shared room for the night and closed the door. The blond sat on the edge of his bed and lit a cigar. He took a hit and ended up coughing like crazy. "I can't do it no matter how hard I try… I just can't smoke! I'm too useless. It's all because I only have half-assed determination…" he wheezed.

"You don't have half-assed determination, Ali. You have more determination than I do about this… but, I guess that's because you have a more personal connection with this than me," Tettia said, sitting beside him, rubbing his back.

As Tettia comforted the blond, a breeze of air held a certain air. Tettia sniffed the air and she knew who it was. Alibaba whipped his head around and asked, "Who's there!"

"It's Morgiana," sighed Tettia as Alibaba got into bed. He crossed his arms behind his head and looked up. His face fell and become that of terror. "Hi, Morg," Tettia said.

Morgiana dropped down and grabbed Alibaba. "Don't make a sound, or else I'll make you lose consciousness," she threatened. Alibaba made a noise and she hit him in the stomach.

After a few moments, Alibaba sat on the ground, looking at Morgiana. "What's the meaning of this? How did you find me…" he asked.

Tettia bopped him in the arm. "She followed your scent like I did, idiot," she said.

"Oh…"

"Yes, I followed your scent. I wanted to ask you both what exactly happened. Alibaba, why did you become a thief? Tettia, why did you leave us _and_ become a thief with Alibaba? Please, both of you, tell your reasons to Aladdin," she said.

Alibaba looked away in shame. "No… I've nothing to say to him. This is the thieves' lair… you should go before you're killed," the blond replied.

"I agree, Morg, you really should leave," Tettia agreed.

Morgiana looked at the duo with irritation in her eyes at their blatant refusal. "No, I won't leave. Not before you both tell me your reasons. In order to meet you again, Alibaba, Aladdin had to make quite a long journey these past months… He had made the journey to see Tettia, too, and then she stumbled upon us a few days ago," she began. Alibaba and Tettia continued to look away in shame. "Six moths ago, when you were still in Chishan, didn't you try everything to search for Aladdin, too, Alibaba? Or was it only Tettia who tried? I still think Alibaba still has things he has to tell Aladdin."

"No… means no," retorted Alibaba, turning away from Morgiana.

Tettia nodded in agreement, "Aye, no means no, Morgiana. Go away."

"Why not?" questioned the purebred Fanalis.

"No matter what, we just can't," said Tettia and Alibaba.

"And what exactly do you two mean by that? Is there something stopping you two from doing so!? Tettia, you have to explain why you just up and left!"

Alibaba and Tettia sighed and exclaimed, "It has nothing to do with you!"

The blond continued by himself, "This is my problem! Once a man decides on something, women should keep their mouths shut!"

That exclamation had Tettia eying the blond who sat beside her. "Excuse me, what did you just say? I fucking joined you, you bastard! You can't just tell _me_ to keep _my mouth shut_! I am helping your ass!" she yelled, punching him in the arm.

Morgiana stomped her foot angrily with a pout. She walked over to Alibaba and grabbed him, picking him up. "There is no way that it doesn't concern Aladdin and myself… I'll bring you to meet Aladdin! Tettia… you're following me or I will knock you out and bring you," came Morgiana in a low voice.

"Fine, sure, whatever," Tettia replied. "Here, let me carry Ali." She grabbed Alibaba from the other Fanalis's grasp. "Lead the way." Rolling her eyes, Morgiana jumped out of the hideout and lead Tettia and Alibaba to Aladdin.

"Judging from what happened last night… the ones that attacked you in your area _weren't_ members of the _Fog Troupe_ … but just ordinary citizens, am I right?" asked Ja'far to Masrur, Sinbad and Tora.

Sinbad sighed and began to talk, "That's right. They were citizens that could no longer endure the hardships of extreme poverty."

Crossing her arms, Tora interjected, "Yeah! Those poor people couldn't fucking deal with being starved to death!"

Clearing his throat, Sinbad continued, "But to go to the extent of attacking and raiding the rich's homes… it seems that Balbadd is experiencing a major economic gap… just what is going on here?"

"It's obvious, Sin! The king of this country has royally fucked this poor country! He got too fucking greedy and now the people are ready to behead him! Rightfully so! I want to behead him, myself," exclaimed an irritated Tora.

Ja'far placed a hand on Tora's shoulder, signaling for her to calm down. "The country seems to be having a chaotic problem with the economy. This may be one of the reasons. Not only that, other countries seem to be intervening with this country's affairs…" he said in a calm voice.

Tora looked at the white-haired man who was standing beside her. "The fuck do you mean by that, Ja'far?" she questioned.

Pulling a piece of paper, Ja'far placed one of his hands on his hip, glaring at the paper. "Take a look at this. I hear that this paper note called _Juan_ was issued by the Kou Empire. Moreover, when I went to investigate this throughly, I found out that the king of Balbadd, Ahbmad Saluja, is engaged to a princess from the Kou Empire," he said.

Sinbad and Tora were clearly taken aback. "What did you say!?" they exclaimed in unison.

Tora growled in irritation, "That fucking bastard… why didn't he tell us a damn thing about this little tidbit of fucking information…?!"

Ja'far looked at them and continued, "More importantly, the biggest problem we have here is certainly the _Fog Troupe_. Since our opponents have a Djinn's metal vessel, as well as that many magic items… if we don't revise our battle plans, the situation will become very serious. It looks like establishing contact with our country is still the best choice."

Sinbad sighed, "I guess you're right. Since I lost all my metal vessels… speaking of which, where's Aladdin?"

"Yeah! Where is that adorable little bluenette?" asked Tora, looking around.

"Well… Aladdin seems to be very dejected… since then, he's been resting in his room. Although being a Magi, he still is a child after all…" said Ja'far.

Sinbad and Tora sighed, "I see…"

"But then again… _Wonder Man Alibaba_ … Alibaba…" questioned Sinbad.

"What the is it, King Moron?"

Aladdin stared out of his window, holding his flute. "Ugo… it has taken me a long time… to reach Balbadd. But, it's just like you said. Just like how I experienced many things this past half year… Alibaba must have gone through a lot as well. I'm upset that Tet was reunited with me, only to leave and become a thief with Alibaba… a lot must have happened between them while I was gone. Alright! What should I do from now on? I have to set a new goal for myself! That's right. I should continued fulfilling my promise to Ugo, to find the rest of the Djinn's metal vessels… but, it wouldn't feel the same without Tet. And I should speak with Uncle Sinbad… and ask him about things like being a Magi and about the Dungeons. Ah! Why don't I just follow Morg and head over to the Dark Continent, too! I wonder what the Dark Continent is like? Hehe, to think that there are so many things that I can do," he said to himself. His stomach growled loudly. "I'm starting to feel hungry again! Come to think of it, I haven't eaten anything since yesterday. Let's find something to eat then!"

After the young Magi's monologue, Morgiana jumped through the window, being followed by Tettia and Alibaba. After a moment of awkward silence, the blond and half-blooded Fanalis sat in the center of the room, Morgiana standing behind them. "H-hey… sorry for disturbing you… Aladdin…" they said in unison, looking at the ground, smiling.

Aladdin looked at his two friends, holding himself back from hugging Tettia. Apparently he said forget it as he jumped across the room and attacked his long-time Fanalis friend with a hug. "Tet!" he called out as he hugged her, nuzzling into her chest.

Tettia rubbed his head, smiling sweetly down at him. "Hello, Laddin," she spoke.

Alibaba looked beside him, at Tettia's lap, where the bluenette was nestled. "H-hey! It seems like you're doing well," he said with an awkward wave.

The bluenette's blue eyes gazed up at Alibaba as he replied, "Mhmm! Alibaba, you too?"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Tettia said, "It's… been what, half a year? Like nothing even happened in between us."

"Yeah… it's been half a year. You look like you've changed quite a lot since then, no?" said Alibaba.

Nodding, Aladdin said from Tettia's lap, "Mhmm! Alibaba too…"

Tettia laughed, "It's been half a year since you've seen me, too, Laddin… I just happened to get to you before Ali had."

"Yeah! You haven't changed much, Tet."

"Of course I haven't. The only thing that happened was I left to go find Ali," Tettia replied.

Morgiana glowered at the two and said, "Please get to the point. Yesterday, Alibaba, you even pointed your sword at Aladdin… and Tettia, you kicked me. So, please hurry up and explain why you're both with the Fog Troupe. Particularly you, Alibaba."

Tettia rolled her crimson eyes, groaning, "You're kinda annoying me, Morgiana. I'm sure Ali was getting to that."

"I was actually getting to that part… but since you said it, I don't feel like saying it anymore…" spoke Alibaba. Tettia snickered from behind her left hand.

Aladdin had since moved from Tettia's lap and was again sitting in front of his two friends. Morgiana glared at the two, mainly at Alibaba, clearly pissed off. "Please hurry up and explain it. This isn't a time to joke around. Do you two even know what situation this country is facing because of what your _Fog Troupe_ did? Trading stopped because of this internal conflict… the government doesn't even care about the citizens' well-being… those innocent people that ran away because of this found themselves being caught by slave traders," explained a pissed off Morgiana, clenching her fists into tight balls. "I could never imagine that _both_ of you would be carrying out misdeeds like these… Tettia, you were with us and then you just left to go and be a thief with Alibaba, you're better than that! When you both were in Chishan… you both were kind people, Alibaba was even willing to donate his _entire_ fortune, just to free slaves like me! To think I was so grateful to you for that, Alibaba! Tettia, you were always so nice to me, asking if I ever needed help to just come to you! I seriously cannot imagine you're the kind of people who don't even care about someone's well-being!" Tears were in the young Fanalis's crimson eyes as she spoke.

Tettia and Alibaba closed their eyes, looking down at the ground in shame. Tettia knew what Alibaba was doing was utterly wrong, but she promised to stay by his side until he was done. Why could Morgiana not understand that it is just too personal for Alibaba? Why could she not just let it go? The purebred Fanalis puffed out her cheeks in anger. Aladdin waved his hand at her. "Calm down for now, Morg… I can understand that you are angry because you have experienced a lot of problems. But, the four of us finally got the chance to gather like this. Speaking of which, the moon today is very pretty… so, let's talk about some happy things instead! Right, Alibaba, Tet?" He said, smiling at the two friends of his.

Alibaba and Tettia's eyes widened as they looked at their young friend. Morgiana's anger suddenly drained from her as she looked at the young boy. "Y-yeah!" the blond and red-head exclaimed.

"Speaking of which, where have you been all this time?" the blond asked Aladdin. "Since we conquered the seventh dungeon… Tet and I only got to see this girl… when you didn't come over to find us at all, both Tet and myself almost died worrying about you! Where have you been exactly?" Tettia nodded.

Aladdin laughed, "He he he. Don't be surprised, alright? I was… at a place called the Kouga Village all this time…"

Aladdin started talking about what happened at the grass plains, where he ended up after leaving the seventh dungeon. He talked about the people he met over there, how he was seen as a family member by the people, and how he had met an important person there. The bluenette explained why that person had died because of war, as well as getting closer to solving the mystery of that world; even how Kouga Village turned out to be Goltas's birthplace. He spoke about his journey from the grass plains to the large desert, the sceneries and the creatures he saw for the first time. Aladdin even talked about how he got past a difficult crisis, and how he finally reached Balbadd.

Alibaba and Tettia were amazed at his tale. Even though Tettia had found Aladdin, she had not been able to ask where he had been. "Whoa… to think that so many things happened! It really was a rather exciting adventure," the duo said in unison.

"I mean, I only saw you for, like, five days and then I went to go join Ali," said Tettia.

Aladdin smiled, "Yeah! Also, to be able to find you in this country, Alibaba… I ended up needing to help out in arresting the members of the Fog Troupe." Both Tettia and Alibaba looked at Aladdin. "Although I didn't think that you were one of them… and now Tet is one of them… I believe that you both must have your own reasons for being with them. So, please, tell me the reason why you decided to join the Fog Troupe, Alibaba. I'm sure I know why Tet did."

Tettia laughed and said, "It was so I could look after Ali! Laddin, I know you can take care of myself. I was traveling with Ali until two months before I found you, we discussed it and we decided to met back up in Balbadd after I found you. Also, I wanna know why you joined, too, Ali. I wasn't around when you did."

The leader of the Fog Troupe looked at Aladdin for a few brief moments before he began, "Aladdin, Tettia… do you still remember what I told you both in the seventh dungeon? I got to know Tettia more after that, but, Aladdin, do you think you could introduce me to your friend, Ugo? But before that… could you listen about a friend of mine?"

"Sure! Of course!" said both Tettia and Aladdin. Tettia already knew who the friend was, but she did not know the story behind their friendship and whatnot.

"His name is Cassim," Alibaba spoke.

Aladdin questioned, "Cassim?"

"Yeah. He's the real leader of the Fog Troupe. He's the one who created the Fog Troupe, but, it seems like he has always wanted me to be a leader, though."

"What sort of relationship does he have with you?" asked Aladdin. Tettia was listening closely, not wanting to miss a single detail.

Glancing at Aladdin's face, Alibaba golden eyes were soft. "It's very similar to the relationship between you and Ugo, yet also like you and Tet's relationship. Yes, Cassim and I have been friends since long ago. We would often get into physical fights over capture the flag, and although we often fought like that, in reality we were the best of friends. We'd run around the junkyard street together, _every day_. But not everything was the same for the both of us. I had a gentle mother…"

"Woah, Alibaba's mother?" the young bluenette said.

Smiling, Alibaba nodded and continued, "Yeah, my mother. She was a really kind person. My mother was a harlot in the slum quarters. In the evening, I would return to my mother's lap. My mother was a cheerful person, so I was always happy. But for Cassim, it was different. His father was a worthless man. He was always hitting Cassim and his younger sister Mariam, calling Cassim a _shitty brat_. My mother saved Cassim and Mariam from their father one day and after that, my mother held Cassim and his sister as if they were her own children… I was a little jealous. I thought my mother had been stolen from me. And, after that day, Cassim's father disappeared from the slums. We don't know if he abandoned his family and ran away or hung himself somewhere to die, but… anyway, I was mentioned a lot in the slums. My mother adopted Cassim and his sister. We became a family of four."

Tettia chuckled and touched Alibaba's shoulder. "A family. That must have been lively," she said.

Casting his honey gaze to look into her crimson orbs, the blond said, smiling briefly, "Yeah. It was lively and fun. And it was Cassim who changed that lifestyle. Cassim always stole. One day he was caught by the old man at the store. And my mother told him that she would never let Cassim steal from him again. As expected, Cassim behaved himself after that incident. But… mother died one day because of an illness. That day was a really sad one… I was still a kid then. I was lonely, anguished, and didn't know the reason why."

"I'm sorry…" muttered Tettia, placing a hand on top of one of Alibaba's hands.

Alibaba smiled sadly at Tettia's gesture, yet did not tell her to remove her hand. Instead, he held her hand. "Mariam and myself cried, but Cassim never cried. Because he was a year older than me, he took the role of an older brother. For the three of us who were left behind, as brats, we combined our strength and really did our best. We also did all sorts of work. Picking up trash, polishing boots, and leading foreigners in their sightseeing tour of Balbadd. But Cassim used the wrong methods for survival. He went back to stealing. Moreover, as before, he used the bad kids in the streets in a showy way. Cassim was probably driven to desperation to secure our survival. That led to a day when I asked him, _Should I give you a hand?_ … he rejected my questioned, saying how he realized he was a villain. Saying it was because his father's blood flowed through him. After a pause, he asked if we were friends. I told him that we were, and he smiled. Cassim seemed a little weird that day. I remember it even now. A few days later, something even more odd happened… the king of Balbadd came to the slums," he continued to explain.

"King…" everyone else questioned. Tettia squeezed the blond's hand she was holding as she looked at him.

Alibaba squeezed her hand back. "Yeah, it was really shocking. The king visiting the slums! And above that… the king told me that I was his son." Everyone looked shocked, Alibaba nodded and continued, "I said that it couldn't be possible. My mother was a harlot, so no one could ever know whose child I was. But, according to the king, my mother used to work at the palace as a maid, and it seemed that is where I was sired by the king. I didn't know what was going on, but I couldn't find a reason to get away. I was just a roach in the slums and the other party was a king. Anyway, I discussed it with Cassim. It didn't matter to me that the king's men told me not to tell anyone that I was a prince, because Cassim was my family. I was so sure they'd stop me from going back to the slums! And besides, Cassim would also want to stay together with me. But, he just said some things that hurt me. Saying that I shouldn't have been his friend… and I beat Cassim up. Beat him really badly. And like that, I said goodbye to the slums. From that day, my life changed completely," he began to laugh.

Tettia tilted her head in confusion. "Why are you laughing, Ali?"

"Just by taking a bath, putting on expensive looking clothes and shoes, I was a _prince_ from that day on. Wasn't it funny? But, after that day, a difficult life await me. I was a _dirty brat_ from the slums, and those people in the palace who saw me that way stared coldly at me. _Especially_ the princes Ahbmad and Sahbmad, who looked at me as if I were a piece of trash. Even the person who brought me in, the king, ignored me completely when we were in the palace. I was lonely. On top of that, I had to go through intense training and lessons daily. Everything from how I should walk, speak and eat to sword fighting, economics and even mathematics and philosophy. Honestly, I didn't like philosophy or swordplay, so it was really difficult. Ah! But I loved the practice lessons for economy outside of class!"

Chuckling, Tettia spoke, "That's good!"

"Yeah! Also, I didn't at all hate reading those book from the shelves… especially the adventure novels when the public _Dungeon Capturing_ boom started. To cut it short, I hung in there. I didn't have a place I could return to… but, by doing my best, the cold stares I had been getting changed. Some of those people _finally_ began speaking to me properly… even the younger prince, Sabhmad, got closer to me. In only three years, the days I had had at the slums had become a distant memory. It was strange, really. I couldn't remember anything about that place anymore. The place I was brought up in as a child. One night, I secretly escaped from the palace. I wanted to have a look at the slums, but nothing was there. There was no trace of when junkyard street was cleaned up. Of the people who lived in the slums, not a soul was there. At a loss, I had no choice but to return to the palace. At that moment…"

"What?" questioned Tettia, who had scooted closer to Alibaba, still holding his hand.

"Cassim appeared from the shadows. Why did I meet Cassim at that time, I wonder. At that time… if only I hadn't escaped from the castle… if only I hadn't met Cassim at that time… _that_ incident would not have happened…" Alibaba spoke, looking at the ground.

Tettia cocked her head. "What _incident_?" Aladdin shortly after her, asked the same question.

"That incident… I told you two about it before, didn't I? About the time I slipped up very badly. After all that time he had changed quite a bit, but that just had to be him. Cassim looked surprised, wearing a bizarre expression as if he'd met a dead person. Because of the way we had parted, I hesitated to speak first… but, in the end, sill spoke first. At the time, I didn't know what was going on in his mind. To be frank, talking to him was fun and nostalgic… but, now, as I recall, I realize, he had a moment when his eyes were filled with darkness. On that day, from the moment he met me, he had made a decision. That he would cause that incident to happen," Alibaba said, seemingly getting more upset.

Squeezing his hand to remind him that she was there for him, Tettia said, "It's okay… don't get too upset, I'm here for you, just squeeze my hand."

Alibaba was grateful that he had Tettia there for him. He squeezed her hand as he continued, "He said for us to go get a drink. I didn't know the meaning of those words. That was because we weren't even of age yet. But it wasn't vexing. I felt that he was more mature than I was… and so I followed him. And then I found out… that he was a regular of that shop! One frightening adult after another was bowing to a brat like him. As I gave him a closer look, it seemed that he was surrounded with money. During the three years in the royal palace, I had learned things. Literature, swordplay… but, Cassim had also learned things that I hadn't been taught yet… Acting, drinking, how to follow-up on a comment… in short, a guy well-equipped with social skills for the adult world. Our conversation began with talking about the past. I got carried away with the atmosphere and went blabbering on and on. Cassim was complaining that Mariam was foolish and was troubling him. I laughed at that, but I was the most foolish one there…"

Pinching his cheek, Tettia said in a chastising way, like that of a worried lover, "You got drunk and blabbed, didn't'cha?"

"Oww… yeah. I did. As our conversation about the past was about to end… Cassim asked how I got there. I replied by saying that it was hard escaping from there, complaining about how many guards there were. He asked me again how I got away and in my drunken stupor, said that I had escaped through the tunnels. I spoke about it with pride. Although the walls looked solid from the outside, the interior was totally not so. Just a little, the crevices in the walls were beginning to give way. I told him how I made the opening bigger, creating tunnels in the palace walls… Cassim held me in admiration. I never told him where the walls were weak. Though I was drunk, I had at least that much discretion. Cassim didn't have to hear that much. But, Cassim didn't _need_ to hear that much. It was getting late into the night and if I didn't return to the palace soon, it would have been bad. But, before that, I had something I needed to tell Cassim no matter what. I needed to tell him that I was sorry for hitting him the day I left for the palace and asked him if what he said had been for my sake. When he confirmed that was what he had meant, I was elated! Cassim had down that for my sake! And, at that time, things were again how they had been in the past. We were the best of friends again! The other guys hanging around also encouraged me a lot. And that was why I wasn't careful. The underlings Cassim gave money to, trailed me to the palace… how stupid was I…" he said, using the hand not holding Tettia's to rub the back of his head.

"Alibaba…" said Aladdin, looking at his blond friend with tears almost swelling in his blue eyes.

Tettia rubbed Alibaba's back comfortingly with her other hand. "You weren't stupid… just foolishly drunk," she said.

The blond sniffled almost as he looked at Tettia, then to Aladdin. "After that reunion with Cassim, a period of peace followed. As usual, lessons were straining, but something was unbounded in me and I could tackle anything that came my way. Then, one day, the king summoned me. The king had grown too weak due to a one-year chronic disease and passed his authority to his eldest son, Ahbmad. At that moment, things weren't going well in Balbadd. Our main trading partner, Paltevia, was in a recession, so we switched to the Kou Empire from the north-east, which intervened with our economy by smuggling weapons. The envoy of the Kou Empire had been exerting influence Ahbmad around that time and he even meddled in matter of internal politics. Ahbmad was a lazy person, though, and thought it was troublesome. His submission to the envoy was what concluded things."

Squeezing Alibaba's hand tightly, Tettia growled out, "Fuck that spoiled brat Ahbmad! I will personally put him in his place!"

Alibaba laughed slightly, and continued, "The kind said to me: _'I would like to leave this country to you.'_ I was shocked… was he telling me to be king? Even though I was only a kid from the slums and fully incompetent. He spoke so much and before I could say a word… the king explained it to me. About the country being in a critical situation. And how he could not feel at ease handing the country's politics over to Ahbmad and Sahbmad who had been taught by his late legal wife. But that he probably wouldn't have enough time to do it himself. My mother's name was Anise. The king told me that he loved my mother and that there were many obstructions that prevented him from being with her. That was the first time my true feeling gushed out, and that I could fully accept that that person was my father. However, him leaving it to me, that tensed me up a lot. There, I resolved to devote myself to this kingdom! … but, that was my last meeting with the king… and that night, that incident happened. Still heavily thinking about the conversation I had with the king during the day, I spilled out of my bed, going towards the place below the palace where the walls were weak. That night was a totally dark one, without a moon… the light of the stars was barely enough for me to navigate my surroundings…"

"I have a _really_ bad feeling about where this story is going, Ali," said Tettia, leaning her head onto the blond's shoulder. Never once letting go of his hand.  
Alibaba grimaced in sadness as he continued, leaning his head onto Tettia's head. "And there he was… yes, it was him! It was Cassim! I was shocked to say the least. Why was he here!? I asked him if he had come there to have fun. But of course, that wasn't the case. One after another, people I didn't know appeared behind Cassim. I recognized a few of their faces. Yes, they were from Cassim's group of bandits from the slums! Cassim came into the palace accompanied with that bunch of people to steal from it! Yes, Cassim had continued to steal! But the scale on which he did it was also incomparable to that of before!"

Tettia sighed out in sympathetic pain and sadness. "Oh goodness, I apologize for that, Ali. That must've been terrifying."

"It was. I questioned why is was happening. Why, it was because I didn't grasp a hold of Cassim's true nature. As if it was fine, I drank and blabbered. When things were going well, I thought _'I'd devote myself to this country!'_ , in reality, I'd be piling all the responsibility on myself. And at that moment, I didn't move a single step. I didn't want Cassim to be arrested, I didn't want the palace to be assaulted. Not being able to choose one or the other, the coward that I was… I was knocked out. And instead of letting his men kill me, Cassim just said to tie me up and leave me there. And what I heard in my clouded consciousness was the sound of flames, voices of confused escapees… Cassim was going around with a torch and using the opportunity to steal the treasures of others. Though Cassim was the one who left the treasures, the thing which enabled him to do so was my blabbering about that tunnels in the palace walls," he continued his long story.

Aladdin looked at Alibaba and Tettia, who were still leaning on one another. "So that is what happened…" he said simply.

"Yeah… then, the next morning… ' _The king passed away_ '. Those were the first words I heard when I woke up. The cause of death was his illness, but last night's incident had certainly hastened its progression. I felt like I'd caused the death of the king… because I was scared, I escaped Balbadd on that very day. And with that, the story of my time in Balbadd ends," finished the blond.

Tettia lifted her head from the blond's shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Wow… that story is… _really_ upsetting, Ali. Geez, I never knew. As for my story, I just promised Alibaba that I would be by his side when I found him yesterday morning," she said.

Through the wall of their room, Sinbad had a cup pressed to it, listening in on the story of Alibaba's time in Balbadd before he conquered the dungeon with his friends. "I see, I see, so that's how it is…" he muttered, "I've heard that the previous king had an illegitimate child… so this is what happened."

"Hey, Sin, Tora. You know eavesdropping on other's conversations is a bad habit, right?" asked Ja'far, who also had a cup pressed against the wall along side his king and the purplenette female.

Tora laughed quietly. "There is no other fucking way, Ja'far. If King Moron here were to enter the room, _Wonder Man Alibaba_ would refuse to talk. Also, you're being a fucking hypocrite, you're doing it with us," she said in a hushed voice.

Sinbad shh'd the two. "Keep it down a little…" he said.

Alibaba continued onto another part of his story, "I headed south after I left Balbadd, and earned a small living at the city near the oasis. I was happy passing my saying without being bounded. It was also around that time that I started to plan for _Dungeon Diving,_ which I had longed to do for quite some time. Soon after that, I met you two, Aladdin and Tet."

"After that, you captured the seventh dungeon… but I still don't understand… if Cassim had betrayed you, then why did you still going his Fog Troupe," asked Morgiana, looking at Alibaba in total confusion.

"… Since I've already captured a dungeon, I decided to return to Balbadd afterwards, in order to settle things and carry out the promise I've made with both Aladdin and Tet. Which is why, before I continue to take new steps, I wanted to return to the palace. To reveal the truth of that incident. However, when I got here, I was appalled at the condition of Balbadd. You won't be able to tell from here, but, the condition of Balbadd near the borders is too horrible to even look at. Entire streets filled with people suffering from hunger… what exactly happened to this country? Then, I heard a rumor from someone. That there was a group of people who were actually opposing the country's military… and that they were actually Cassim's _Fog Troupe_. I had kept myself from thinking about Cassim all this time. I didn't even want to think about the fact that someone who was as close as him had actually deceived me. But, after hearing that rumor, I decided that if I wanted to settle things, I'd have to find Cassim first! A rogue nearby immediately brought me to Cassim when I paid him…"

Chuckling and rolling her eyes, Tettia said, "Of course they did. Money is rare in this country… apparently."

Alibaba nodded, squeezing her hand once again, "I entered the place and there was Cassim, who I hadn't met in a long time."

Morgiana was angry and she huffed, "Cassim…"

"You're mistaken. Although Cassim's actions sounded like those of a villain, and I sounded like a victim who was fooled repeatedly, it's not Cassim's or the _Fog Troupe's_ fault. From Cassim, I heard how the country itself had been treating the people in the slums," the blond said and squeezed Tettia's hand even tighter. "And so I found out I hadn't known anything at all… that he'd actually had his difficulties, too. And so he revealed the truth to me. That, after I had left the slums, inhumane restrictions had been set on the slums' inhabitants. Among others, restrictions had been placed on usage of residential ares, access to goods and what activities were allowed by residents. Simply put, people in the slums no longer had access to the daily necessities. Except for doing labor work provided by the government, there was no way out of the slums. In short, the slums became a prison. Cassim told me that Mariam had died a slow and painful death, just like most people of the slums had back then. He lied to me, and that night we drank together, he had told me that there hadn't been any real change in the slums…"

Horrified, Tettia looked at Alibaba's face. It was heavy with sadness as he mentally recalled that conversation of which Cassim told him Mariam had died. "Wow… I-I… I'm sorry… Ali… Also, remind me to punch Cassim when we get back," she said.

"And so I joined the Fog Troupe. After talking with Cassim, I finally understood. That regardless of what had happened, Cassim was still my friend and family. And now that Cassim is facing a big problem, I want to be able to help him! I immediately took action, and had us distribute the stolen good to the residents. As long as we have the support of the residents, the Fog Troupe will not be mere thieves but _rebels_! After I get the needed support, I'll reveal my identity and go negotiate with that bastard Ahbmad. Aladdin, I have already decided! And Tet's decided to do this with me!" spoke Alibaba.

Turning her gaze towards Aladdin, Tettia nodded. "He's right, I've decided to help him. Plus, this idiot _obviously_ needs the help," she said, sticking her tongue out at Alibaba.

Alibaba quickly tried refuting her claim, but Tettia was not hearing it. She shh'd him and the two got into a heated discussion as to if he needed the help or not. As his two best friends bickered back and forth like a married couple, Aladdin was thinking to himself. _So, that's why… for his important friends and citizens… Alibaba had to go through a lot of anguish and anger before finding the determination to resort to weapons. Tet, she… she really likes Alibaba; enough to follow him to the end of his goal, even if that means she'll be away from me for a while. But… what is this feeling? I feel like I have seen something similar before._ That was when the young Magi gasped and remembered his time in the Kouga Village, how they had been in a similar situation and how Baba set her people straight.

"Then, if the king is unwilling to accept your advice… what will you do!?" asked the young boy.

Tettia stopped mid-sentence. "Uhhh…"

"That is…" muttered Alibaba.

Aladdin continued, "I understand clearly… about Alibaba's feelings of wanting to help a close friend. But, if war is declared due to a moment of anger, I believe that many tragic things will occur…"

"We know that," said Tettia with a smile.

"But… but… is there even another way?! This country's situation is beyond dire right now! There must be something we can do about it, and as soon as possible! I can't ignore those residents who are suffering! That is why I decided to confront the country as it is now…" exclaimed Alibaba, still squeezing Tettia's hand.

Tettia continued from where he trailed off, "But, we also know that what you're saying is right, Laddin!"

"What we did is causing even more refugees! Even if we only fought the military and the nobles, it is true that regular people got hurt, too! I… I don't even understand what I'm doing anymore… I'm just too useless… that's why I didn't want to meet you at this kind of time, Aladdin… Please… Please leave! Just leave this country!" exclaimed Alibaba, tears pricked his eyes.

Aladdin whacked Alibaba in the head with his cane. While Tettia's eyes were widened in disbelief, she was snickering and biting her lip. Alibaba let Tettia's hand go and held his head. "That hurts! What are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

"Calm down, Alibaba. You are making things too complicated, so you can't think about them properly. It is true that the problems this country is facing are difficult for us to solve… but, rest assured, I will help you come up with a solution! Let me think with you, and Tet… to come up with a way to help your important friend, too! And there's also Ugo and Morg. We can definitely think of a way if we all worked together," exclaimed the knowledgeable young Magi.

Alibaba nodded. "For raising my voice… sorry," he apologized.

"It's ok. It doesn't matter…" the bluenette said, reaching out a hand towards his other two friends.

That was when the window burst open and Aladdin, Tettia and Alibaba rolled away from said window. "Hey… I've been looking for you two…" said Cassim. He brought a large amount of people with him. "I've come to save you both, mates," he spoke with a devious smirk.

"CASSIM!" yelled both Tettia and Alibaba, shocked by his entrance. Honestly, they had hoped to be back by then.


	12. What is Even Happening?

**Chapter Twelve: What is Even Happening?**

* * *

Tora and Sinbad, with their cups and ear still pressed to the wall, fell backwards as a loud crash came from above them. "The fuck?! Somethin ain't right! There was a damn loud crash," hissed Tora, covering her right ear.

Ja'far and Masrur twitched before the white-haired man exclaimed, "Sin, Tora, behind you!"

The king and the purplenette turned around and saw that the wall had been crashed into. From the hole in the wall, poured members of the Fog Troupe.

Cassim had the whole hotel surrounded. "Cassim! What did you bring so many subordinates for!?" questioned a sweat-dropping Alibaba with wide eyes.

Crossing her arms, looking at Cassim the way a mother would look at a child who misbehaved. "Yeah! Can you explain why in the hell _this_ many subordinates was necessary," she questioned.

"Isn't that obvious?! When found out you two had been abducted, we immediately came to save you! According to reports, our enemy has extraordinary skills. That is why I mobilized the whole group," he exclaimed, looking at the duo worriedly.

Tettia and Alibaba were throughly confused. "Huh?! What are you saying!?" they both questioned.

Morgiana and Aladdin looked at the black-haired man with dreadlocks that stood before them, holding a hand out to Alibaba and Tettia. "So _this_ is Cassim…" she muttered.

Aladdin's blue eyes looked up at Cassim, and Cassim's golden eyes looked down at Aladdin. That was when he recognized the young boy. "You… aren't you those brats who interfered yesterday!? I see… so you're part of the military too, eh," questioned Cassim, brandishing his weapon.

"You must be _Cassim_. You're here to take back Alibaba and Tettia, right?" asked Morgiana as she walked forward. Looking back at the duo, she asked them, "Do you want to leave with him, Alibaba? Tettia?"

With their eyes widened in confusion, both Tettia and Alibaba looked at Morgiana. They slowly turned their heads to look at one another, silently having a conversation in their eyes. Before they could finish their conversation, a loud crash rang out. The members of the Fog Troupe had begun to attack the rich people residing in the hotel. "Attack, attack! Everyone in this hotel is rich!" screamed a member.

"Who's our target?" asked one member.

"No idea, Cassim ordered us to capture everyone," replied another.

The actions of the members of the Fog Troupe pissed the duo off. "CASSIM! What are you _doing_!?" they both yelled at him, turning their heads to throw a harsh look at the man.

Tettia growled, "I've never heard of the Fog Troupe attacking a damn hotel!"

With a hardened gaze, Cassim replied to the duo, "You idiots! If we don't do it throughly, _we'll_ be the ones to die! Our enemy is that _Sinbad_!"

"Excuse me?!" exclaimed Tettia.

Sinbad, Ja'far, Masrur and Tora looked at the men who entered their room through the wall. Pointing at them, the purplenette asked, "Who the fuck are these guys?"

Hassan brandished his sword as he pointed at the four of them. "How _dare_ you take our leader away," he exclaimed.

The four stood, looking dangerously at the troops in front of them. _Their target is me? Is_ ** _that_** _the Fog Troupe? Taking revenge for yesterday?! How did they find out about me?_ thought the purple-haired king.

Readying crossbows, Hassan ordered, "Do it!" And then the men shot their crossbows, sending a barrage of arrows towards the four. Masrur stepped forward, grabbed the marble table and flipped it, stopping the barrage of arrows that would have otherwise punctured holes in them four. The members of the Fog Troupe, their eyes almost bulged out of their skulls. "That table is made of _marble_! Is that guy a monster," question Hassan in a panicked tone.

Masrur pulled the table away, revealing a battle-ready Ja'far, who launched his wires at the enemy. The wires smacked the enemies and Sinbad jumped from behind the table, wielding a sword. "Sin! Leave it to me!" exclaimed Ja'far, though it was too late.

King Sinbad lunged towards Hassan and when their swords clashed, Sinbad seemed to overpower him, for a brief moment. Smirking, Sinbad asked, "What is your worth?"

It was then that Sinbad's sword began corroding away. "Dammit Sin! You're so damn worthless!" yelled Tora.

Whipping his head around, Sinbad retorted, "Shut up!"

"Now, die," yelled Hassan as he took a swing at Sinbad. However, Hassan would not be the one delivering the blow. Instead, he would be on the receiving end of two blows. The first blow being to his stomach by Sinbad's Magoi; the second blow would be from Tora, who punched him in the chest with a good bit of force, which caused him to stagger backward a bit. "What was that? What did you do—" he was cut off by couching up blood from both blows.

"HASSAN!?" called out Zaynab as she looked on worriedly as her husband flopped to the floor.

"Waste of my Magoi!" said Sinbad.

Cracking her knuckles, Tora also said, "Waste of my fucking time!"

Zaynab was now infuriated by the two who had dealt a significant amount of damage to her husband. With fury embedded in her voice, she yelled, "You _beasts_ , everybody GO!" Her troops let out a puny roar as they charged at the four.

"Cassim… when you mentioned _Sinbad_ … did you mean **_that_** _Sinbad_?!" questioned Alibaba.

Tettia was also curious. "You mean the _KING_ of Sindria… a _foreign_ country," she demanded.

Cassim walked toward the duo, saying, "I'll tell you both later! There's no time!" As the true leader of the Fog Troupe touched the arms of Alibaba and Tettia, the duo gasped.

Alibaba pushed Cassim away, "Watch out, Cassim," they both called. Tettia jumped in the middle and took the hit. Having been pushed all the way to the other side of the room, Tettia had stopped the kick with the metal braces she had hidden under wrappings on her wrists. However, the kick was powerful enough to force Tettia's feet to break the floor.

"What?! Is that girl a monster?! Even with Tettia taking the brunt of the hit, she broke the floor…" exclaimed Cassim.

Grabbing Morgiana's foot, Tettia said quietly, "I'm sorry," as she threw the purebred Fanalis into the floor.

Turning her head to look over her shoulder, Tettia and Alibaba both said to Cassim, "Anyway, just run Cassim!"

The black-haired man looked at the duo, nodded, then proceeded to run to the roof. "Up! Hurry," he called, his men following him, Alibaba and Tettia included. Once they reached the roof, he said, "We've reached the rooftop, we can take our revenge here using our numerical advantage!"

Quickly recovering from being thrown into the floor, Morgiana sprinted up the stairs, towards the roof. She was so focused, she was leaving Aladdin behind and did not really care, she was determined. "Attacking this hotel's innocent guests… the nature of a thief is hard to change, but let _me_ take care of that," she exclaimed.

"Wait, Morg!" called the young Aladdin, trailing after her.

Finally reaching the roof, Cassim had been waiting for the purebred Fanalis. "Come, monster girl," he taunted.

What they had not noticed was a crack in the roof below them; soon, Masrur came busting through the ground beneath the enemy's feet. Following Masrur emergence from the hole came Sinbad, Ja'far and Tora. "Are you all right, Squirt?" Tora asked, smiling at Aladdin. Soon, Sinbad also asked if the young Magi was alright.

"Mister Sinbad! Miss Tora!" exclaimed the Magi.

"More strange people appeared?!" yelled a member of the Fog Troupe.

Hardened golden eyes gazed at the new additions. "They're merely trying to scare us! Go, everyone," commanded Cassim.

Sinbad stood with his arms crossed. "There's quite a lot of them… Masrur! Tora!"

The husband and wife couple stepped up. One with a simple, "Understood" being muttered. The other with a almost demonic laugh followed by knuckles cracking, also saying, "With fucking pleasure". Masrur breathed in and cleared a long, straight path down the middle of the horde of people, dividing them in half. When he landed on the other side, Tora laughed and punched the air, sending a shockwave which had cleared out one of the halves. Many people went flying into the air and Cassim looked on with wide eyes and shock, Masrur was behind him. "Tora, Masrur, you overdid it. You two use _less_ power next time," said their king.

"You… who _are_ you…" said Cassim, looking behind him, to find that Masrur had returned to Sinbad and Tora.

Sinbad looked at Cassim and asked, almost in a taunting way, "What… wasn't I the one you were looking for?"

Gritting his teeth, Cassim said, "So _you're_ Sinbad. It's _you_ who provoked us first! Take this, Sword of the Black Binding Fog!" Then he launched a wave of black mist at Sinbad.

The black fog hit and swirled around Sinbad. He felt his body get heavy. "What's this?" he asked.

"That's the _Black Fog_ from yesterday," called Ja'far.

Sinbad looked back at his white-haired advisor and said, "Ah, so _this_ is the thing that caused you to be captured yesterday."

Cassim yelled at Sinbad's comrades, "Don't move… or your boss loses his life!"

Tora, Masrur and Ja'far just looked at the young man. "Pffft! Go a-fucking-head, then! Or are you all talk and no bite?" yelled Tora, putting her hands on her hips, taunting Cassim. "No, but seriously, try it, asshole. Do it and you damn well know we'll go to war with this royally fucked up country. This country can't do shit by itself, think how bad it was be if you started a war with us!"

Alibaba and Tettia were both visibly taken aback by Cassim words. "Wait, Cassim, what exactly are you saying," they both questioned almost hysterically.

Tettia raised her hand. "Also, what does that woman mean?" she asked.

"We received information! The king of Sindria, Sinbad, is going to _take care of_ our Fog Troupe," exclaimed Cassim, looking over his shoulder to the blond and red-head.

Tora's ear perked at the sound of Tettia's voice. "Is that fucking you, Tet?!" yelled a surprised Tora.

Looking over in the direction of Sinbad and his comrades, her crimson eyes widened. "T-Tora?! Holy fuck, it's you! Good to see you again," she said with a smile and a wave.

The purplenette growled and ran towards her red-head instant best friend. Cassim tried to stop her with a wave of black fog, but the purplenette dodged it, continuing to run at Tettia. "AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed as she managed to drop-kick the half-Fanalis.

"Oww!" exclaimed Tettia, who took out a handful of men as she was drop-kicked. Regaining her balance, she yelled at Tora, "The fuck was that for?!"

Tora was huffing, so pissed that steam could almost be seen coming from her head. " _The fuck was that for_ … BITCH, you _KNOW_ what that was for! Why the fuck would you just leave like you did?!" yelled the purplenette.

Tettia ran towards Tora, hands clenched in anger. "I did it because I promised!" she yelled back, throwing a punch at her purplenette friend.

Catching Tettia's fist, Tora hissed, "A promise to a thief?! _Really_?!" After she said that, she threw the semi-wavy-haired half-Fanalis into the ground.

"He wasn't a thief when I left him!" Tettia exclaimed, jumping up from the ground, throwing a kick at Tora. The kick landed and the purplenette was pushed back a few feet. "I made that promise to Alibaba when we parted ways and I went to go find Laddin! Before the Fog Troupe!"

Deciding it was best for them to stop fighting, Tora sighed heavily and reluctantly backed down. "UGH! Fuck! Fine! I believe you, I'll leave you alone to do you, Tet. But lemme fucking tell you: whenever you're done with this little… whatever in the fuck you're doing with that dumbass… you and I are _definitely_ having a nice, long, insightful fucking talk… understand me," she said in a dangerously serious tone.

"Sure, of course…" Tettia sighed.

Tora walked off, her fists still tightly clenched. She stood next to Masrur, jaw clenched in irritation. "You handled that… _relatively_ well," Masrur whispered to his irritated wife.

Rolling her pinkish-red eyes and sighing heavily, Tora whispered back, "No the fuck I didn't… I'm still gonna beat the shit outta her _and_ the idiot she's in love with later… when they're done here."

The focus shifts back to Sinbad, who was still being bogged down by Cassim's black fog. The king and the leader of the Fog Troupe looked at the Tora and Tettia, respectfully. Shaking his head, Sinbad finally spoke, "Ah, who was the one who told you that?"

"Stop asking questions when you're the one who's caught," demanded Cassim.

Sinbad sighed, "Caught? You mean this?" He used his Magoi to break free from the black fog. Then he proceeded to stand up.

Cassim was completely taken back by that action. "How can that… how can that be?!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

Ja'far looked at Sinbad. "I told you, didn't I? Sinbad, _The King of the Seven Seas_ … is already used to seeing mysterious powers," he spoke.

Tettia squealed loudly. "That's _THE_ Sinbad?! Oh my goodness! He _is_ really handsome! I can't believe I met him a day ago without even realizing it," she gushed, hearts in her eyes. Alibaba looked at Tettia, honestly, a little hurt by her comment.

The king's golden eyes looked at Cassim. "A magical item of this level is useless against me," he said simply. Cassim's golden eyes looked back into the king's darker golden ones. "What's wrong? No more trump cards?" questioned Sinbad in a taunting manner.

"Damn!" yelled Cassim, knowing he was defeated.

Crossing his arms, the king said, "With this, I've fulfilled my promise to Ahbmad. How's _that_ , Ja'far? Tora? Didn't I say I'd do it somehow?"

Sighing heavily, both the purplenette female and white-haired man said, "Yes, you're right."

Narrowing his dark golden eyes, Sinbad continued, "Now, as long as I hand you over to the military… my job is done. Isn't that right, _Wonder Man Alibaba_?" The blond looked more shocked at being called out by the golden-eyed king. "As long as I defeat you, everything will end, _Wonder Man Alibaba_ ," he said once more, drawing his sword and pointing it at the blond. "Now, draw your sword! Let's settle this between us, as leaders. I won't mind if you use it, after all, you're a _dungeon capturer_ , aren't you?"

The night air was charged and Alibaba glanced to look at Tettia, only to find her not standing beside him. Instead, he looked back at Sinbad to find the red-head near Sinbad. "So, _Sin_ , you're actually the legendary dungeon capturer?" she asked, poking the king in the side.

Tearing his deep golden eyes from Alibaba's golden gaze, Sinbad looked slightly down at Tettia. "Yeah, that's me. I'm surprised to you didn't catch on earlier when we first met… when Tora called me _King Moron_. But, please know, I do not mind nor do I want you to call me anything else. _Sin_ sounds natural coming from you, Tettia," he said to her.

" _Shhhhhhhh_ — you really are a ladies man~! You know exactly what to say," fawned Tettia.

"Don't fall for it, Tet!" exclaimed Tora.

Tettia looked at her friend and laughed. "No promises! Now, I gotta go back to Ali~! But, I'll _definitely_ be getting to know you better after we get passed this, _Sin_ ~" she said, winking before returning to Alibaba's side.

Alibaba looked at Sinbad, a fire burning in his eyes. He contemplated what he was going to do. Cassim, who was being held, exclaimed, "Alibaba, run! Run away! Hey, brothers! Take our leader and escape from here!"

"Ah, prioritizing the leader's life? That's also another way of doing things. What are you going to do Alibaba? Are you going to fall back for the time being," Sinbad asked, looking at Alibaba with a questioning look. Pointing his sword towards Cassim, he continued, "Either way, the _Fog Troupe_ is already done for. The one controlling the group is this guy, isn't it!?" His true words irritated Cassim, he had been found out so quickly. "It's okay, Alibaba. You and Tettia can run if you want. Think about it carefully. You, Alibaba, aren't like these people. They are _residents of the slums_. You may look like a comrade on the surface, but, in reality, isn't it the opposite? You're different from them, Alibaba. That's because you are… a prince…"

"SHUT UP!" yelled the blond, who had enough of the king's words. Tettia touched his shoulder as he continued, "That doesn't mean _anything_ to me! I'm no different from them! We are all from the same place and they are my brothers! I won't let you… _allow you_ … to insult the bonds between us!"

Tettia snickered as she stepped away from the blond, "There you go, being attractively serious again!"

Reaching for his knife, Alibaba spoke, "Stern and dignified spirits of etiquette, in the name of my magic, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members. Come forth, Amon!" Sure enough, Amon came forth.

Alibaba lunged towards Sinbad, thrusting his knife at the king. The king skillfully deflected the young prince's attacks. A few more failed attacks later, Sinbad used his Magoi to dissipate the flames from around Alibaba. Sinbad knocked Alibaba in the back of the neck and the young prince went down. "But, as I expected… Alibaba, you really don't know how to use a Djinn properly! And that decides it. I'll hand you over to the military. I wonder… how will King Ahbmad destroy the rest of the _Fog Troupe_ …?"

Tettia went to and helped Alibaba, putting his head in her lap. "Geez, you can't seem to catch a break with huge defeats… can ya, Ali?" she said with a smile as she looked down at him.

"Shut up…" muttered Alibaba, who was blushing in embarrassment from the loss.

Tora laughed and interjected, "Of course, no one will be excluded from that very same damn fate. Only the cold embrace of _Death_ awaits those dumbasses who rebelled! But, of course all you little shits should have been damned-well prepared for this, eh?"

Most of the people backed away. "This is ridiculous… we only joined for the benefits…" one said then ran away. "Ah, wait for me!" another exclaimed. "I'm going too!" yet another exclaimed. "Me too!" yelled another. Most of them retreated. Only a small handful remained.

"… Only _this_ many people remain? My… _Fog Troupe_ …" muttered Cassim.

Tora huffed, saying, "So, you are the bastard who created the _Fog Troupe_? You really do have a damned death-wish!"

Sinbad looked at Cassim with the look only a king could have given to someone. "Revolting with indignation… are you _planning_ to die? Without planning, all this is foolishness," he said calmly.

Irritatedly, Cassim retorted, "There _was_ planning! We've never lost to the military!"

"That was because you could rely on information leaked _by_ that military." His words shocked Cassim and he continued, "You don't even know how weak you actually are. You're too _foolish_! The _Fog Troupe_ is weak! It's so weak that _I_ **_alone_** am enough to destroy it! You are only involving your friends in a battle you have no hope of winning. And that will only end in mutual destruction!"

"Damn it," exclaimed Cassim as he punched the floor.

"Please watch carefully. I hate to say this, but… this is the future that awaits _virtuous thieves_ … their future… holds only death," Ja'far and Tora said in unison. Tora was surprisingly calm when saying that and did not use a single profanity.

"BUT!" said Sinbad.

Ja'far's face turned plank as he questioned, "…What?"

Tora sighed, rubbing her right temple, "Oh, for the love of fuck…"

Sinbad continued, "If you really are determined to rise up against the king… there still remains an option open to you."

"What?" questioned Ja'far.

"Namely, to borrow the strength of others to make up for what you are lacking now… in short, let me become your comrade by doing your _Fog Troupe_!" finished Sinbad.

Tora threw her hands up into the air, turning on her heels, "FUCK IT! I knew King Moron would say something _that_ damn stupid!"

Tettia started laughing, "So you knew he was gonna say that?"

"NO! But something _stupid_ along those fucking lines, yes, I did, Tet!"

"EHHHH!?" questioned Ja'far, who's face had fallen.

Sinbad continued, "This will benefit you greatly. As that mean your _Fog Troupe_ will be able to receive help from my country, Sindria." Both Tora and Ja'far shared a look of utter _what the fuck is he doing_.

"Sin… are you going to fight?" asked Ja'far.

The king nodded. "Yup."

"With Balbadd's stupid military?" asked Tora.

Another nod. "Yup."

"… and are you _really_ joining the _Fog Troupe_?" they both asked.

Yet another nod. "Yup."

Ja'far was almost on the cusp of a freak-out. "… This is too problematic, we were _supposed_ to _capture_ the _Fog Troupe_. Didn't we come to an agreement with King Ahbmad that he'll reopen trade if we capture the _Fog Troupe_?!" he asked almost hysterically.

Once again, a nod. "But… now I want to help them," came a different reply.

"You are contradicting yourself!" retorted an almost hysteric Ja'far and an almost irritated Tora. "Didn't _you_ say _'No matter the reason, thieving is wrong'_!?" continued the hysteric advisor.

Sinbad sighed deeply and spoke, "Ja'far… Tora…"

"Oh! So _your_ Ja'far! Hi, nice to meet ya, Jaffy," Tettia exclaimed, interrupting the king and his subordinates, waving at Ja'far.

Just after she said that, which caused Sinbad to snicker a little, the king retorted, "How cold-blooded can you two be?!"

Ja'far was both shocked at the nickname he was just given by a woman he did not even know well (yet) and what his king had said to himself and Tora. "Wh-what!?" they both replied. Ja'far's reaction was more along the lines that he did not know how to comprehend what Sinbad was saying. Meanwhile, Tora's reaction was full of rage and was followed by her forcefully yanking Sinbad by his ponytail. "Wanna say that to me again," Tora said in a incredibly low, angry tone. Sinbad shook his head and winced, everyone in Sindria (minus Masrur) winced when Tora got super pissed off, like she was at that moment. Smirking, the purplenette let go of the king's hair, "That's what I thought, King Moron."

After being released, Sinbad cleared his throat and continued, "I retract my accusation of Tora being cold-blooded. Moreover, _'Thieving is always wrong'_?! I was naïve! You know what has happened, don't you, Ja'far? The miserable condition this country is in… starving mothers… young girls armed with weapons… a corrupt nobility. You've already seen it all! Don't you have any compassion, Ja'far?! Are you not human?!"

Oh, Ja'far was freaking out. Sinbad knew what Ja'far had meant by what he and Tora said. "Of course… me too! I feel the same! Why did _I_ become the _bad guy_ here?!" he exclaimed.

Tettia began laughing again. "Alright, this is hilarious," she said.

"It's just gonna get better from here…" said Tora. "Sinbad's either doing this with me or Ja'far… this going back and forth."

"Pfffft! Really?!" questioned Tettia.

"Yeah, now listen to them. Those idiots are pretty funny," Tora replied.

Sinbad turned away from Ja'far and Tora. "You see!? After seeing the state of this country, and that _stupid, selfish_ king, I thought this. I would rather help these people who clearly know that they don't stand a chance, but still won't give up fighting for what little they have! _Do you want my help_? Then let me join your _Fog Troupe_!" The people looked at him dumbfounded by his words.

Many began to chatter. "What?! A king joining a group of thieves?!" one said. "What's that guy thinking…" another commented. "Did he go crazy?!"

Cassim gazed at Sinbad, least than pleased with his words. _What kind of joke is this… I will not be fooled_ , he thought to himself.

Aladdin was smiling and chuckling. "What's wrong, Aladdin?" asked Morgiana.

"Hu hu hu~! Mister Sinbad is so interesting, although he is a weird person, I know he'll definitely become really famous in the future! I wonder, had he already planned all of this from the start? Anyway, whenever Mister Sinbad speaks, the people around him will be unable to ignore him," Aladdin said. Meanwhile, Masrur and Tora were patting the back of a whimpering Ja'far, utterly defeated and unable to deal the fact that he momentarily was the bad guy.

Sinbad spoke once again, "And so, from no onwards, I'm also a member of the _Fog Troupe_ too!"

"What exactly is he thinking!?" a member said. "That old man…" another said.

Alibaba sat up from Tettia's lap, yet had to lean on her for support, looking at Sinbad with an unknowing gaze. "What are you planning? The king of a country _directly_ intervening with another country's domestic affairs — you definitely have an ulterior motive, don't you?" he asked hostilely.

Once again, placing a hand on the blond's shoulder as he leaned on her, Tettia said, "Ali… don't act so hostilely towards a man who wants to help. With Sin on our side, I'm sure we can do this quickly… then we can go back to being normal people who don't have to resort to thieving and rebelling against an entire country."

Sinbad's golden gaze clashed with Alibaba's. He held a serious look, after all, this was a very serious situation. "I want to save the citizens of this country! However, even if I say this, you probably won't believe me," he spoke calmly. The prince and king stared at one another. "Well then…" Sinbad got down onto the ground for them, "If you want me to cite other reasons for joining… that's… to stop the _abnormalities of the world_!"

"Abnormalities of… the world…!? What is this _abnormalities of the world_ …?" asked the members of the group. A feeling of unrest beginning to take hold.

Alibaba shakily stood up, Tettia slinging his right arm over her shoulder as she followed him up. They looked at Sinbad as he continued, "You may be unaware of this but, in recent years, the world has been struck by chaos. In particular, abnormalities mean wars, poverty, deepening discrimination… as king of Sindria, I am concerned about this problem. With a rising population of refugees and a blow to its economy, this country has suffered enough. This is why this time, I want to solve one of the _abnormalities of the world_ — the _Civil Strife within Balbadd_. How does that reason sound?"

"I think it sounds like a damn good reason, King Moron," said Tora, smiling widely. "Don't you all agree?"

Stumbling, Tettia decided to gently sit back down. "What is this guy thinking of…!? He's clearly more dominant, why does he _still_ as for my opinions…?" whispered the blond to Tettia.

Tettia whispered back, "Even though he is more dominant, which I hope he isn't dominant in just this area, he wants your opinion because he _is a foreign king_ … he wants your opinion and acceptance so that it won't be seen as him _interfering_ or _intervening_ in Balbadd's affairs. It would be seen, if you accept him, as Sinbad having _asked to help_ and _his help having been accepted_ by a prince of the country… meaning, you gave him permission to aid you in dealing with the country's internal conflict." Shocked by her rather knowledgeable words, Alibaba's jaw dropped. Looking at the blond, only to see his dumbfounded expression, she turned her crimson eyes away from him, blushing. "D-don't give me that look… y-you know I-I… I'm right… j-just agree to have Sin help!" she whisper-yelled.

"Don't be fooled by him!" yelled Cassim.

Alibaba and Tettia looked over their shoulders. "Cassim!"

Cassim glared at Sinbad. "I won't be fooled… as _King_ , how can he just commit himself to be our _comrade_? All you royalty and superior people are just bastards that trample on inferior people to survive! You're actually just eager for us filthy, poor and inferior people to die from starvation and rot, isn't it!? You just want to live your lives in luxury. Sinbad…" Cassim was cut off by Tettia slapping him in the face. Ja'far also threw one of his wires at him. Cassim fell to the ground. "Wha… what…!? Tettia… how could you?!" asked Cassim, rubbing his cheek.

"Shut up," Tettia and Ja'far said, the latter staring dangerously at Cassim. The latter also continued, walking towards the chief thief, "You have _no idea_ what Sinbad has gone through all this time… how much he had to sacrifice for others… you _ignorant thief_ …" Ja'far grabbed Cassim by the rags he wore, Ja'far's black eyes narrowed to a dangerous point. Almost as dangerous as the blade at the end of his wire that was plunged towards Cassim.

The blade was stopped by Sinbad grabbing it, causing himself to bleed. "Ja'far, stop this," commanded Sinbad.

Ja'far got ahold of himself, snapping back to normal. He gasped as he realized what he had almost done. "… my apologies!" Sinbad just smiled at his advisor.

Tettia had returned to Alibaba's side, supporting him again. "Ok… I'll listen to you," the blond said.

"So what do we do now, huh, Sin?" asked the half-Fanalis.

Sinbad smiled as Ja'far bandaged his hand. "So you're willing to let me join? Thanks," he said and thanked Ja'far as he finished bandaging up the hand.

"Yes! Just tell us what we need to do," said Alibaba.

The bluenette was shocked a little bit. "Ja'far can be scary," he said.

Both Tora and Masrur nodded, saying in unison, "Sometimes…"

"It's hot," said Tettia, laughing.

Sinbad laughed at Tettia's statement and then said, "Then let's not delay things. Alibaba, let's take action immediately."

Alibaba was confused, as was his half-Fanalis companion. "Actions?" the duo asked.

Smiling, Sinbad spoke, "We'll… go to Balbadd Palace right now."

That shocked everyone. " _Comrades_ , my ass. In the end, you just want to hand Alibaba over to the palace!" yelled Cassim.

Groaning, Tettia spat, " _Cassim_ — could you shut the hell up?! Listen to Sin's plan all the way through before you decide to speak!?"

Cassim stared at Tettia, not expecting that reaction from her. "Do you want him to just hand your man over to the palace?! They'd kill him, Tet," he exclaimed irritatedly.

"Listen to the man, Cassim!" Tettia hissed, "I know they won't kill Alibaba… because I'm going too."

Sinbad laughed, willingly accepting that Tettia would be going with him and Alibaba. After all, those two did seem exceptionally close, the half-Fanalis probably would have gone anyways. "We're going to go there for negotiations. Alibaba, didn't you say before? _'I'll get support from the citizens first, then reveal my identity, before going to negotiate with Ahbmad'_. Now's the time to take action… and seeing as she would probably come anyways, we'll take Tet with us," he said.

Tettia winked at Sinbad, who chuckled, before Alibaba whispered into her ear, "Where did he hear that?"

"I dunno," she whispered back.

"You've already succeeded in gathering support, as king, I will testify you identity. You can just reveal your identity to the people. This way you can use your status as leader of _Fog Troupe_ and as the third prince of Balbadd to negotiate with Ahbmad."

Alibaba looked at the ground, unsure of what to do. "… But…" he spoke softly.

"Aren't you afraid that you'll not be recognized? Don't worry, you are truly a prince. Your father was an old acquaintance of mine. He's talked about you with me before. I agree… you do bear resemblance to the previous king. You are, without a doubt, Balbadd's prince. Therefore… don't you have a responsibility to bear?"

"He has a point, Ali…" Tettia whispered, grabbing his hand once again, like she had earlier.

Tora saw that and she groaned, "Massy! Look at those two: Tet and Alibabwa. Their damn sickeningly adorable!"

That caused the both of them to blush, but they did not let go of each other's hand. Sinbad ignored Tora's statement, despite is truth value, and said, looking at Cassim, "What do you say, Cassim? If the negotiations are successful, there will be a guarantee for the lives of those in the slums. Isn't this what you hoped for?" Cassim remained silent, glaring at the purple-haired king.

From behind both of his friends, Aladdin said, "Go on, Alibaba. There's nothing to fear, after all, you have Tet by your side all the way through this. And… you're a brave person, I know it!"

With a reassuring squeeze of his hand by Tettia, and the kind words of Aladdin, it was settled. He would do it. Reveal himself and confront Ahbmad.

That day, major news circulated through Balbadd. The leader of the _Fog Troupe_ , _Wonder Man Alibaba_ was actually the third prince of Balbadd, and would enter the palace with a woman who seemed close to him for negotiations. People gathered before the palace to wait for the result of the negotiation, entrusting all of their hopes for the future between the leader of the anti-government group, an unknown woman friend of the leader's and the king.

Sinbad, Tettia and Alibaba walked into the throne room. Ahbmad was the little brat he always was. "Ah… so it was you, Sinbad, who spread the news. I requested for the capture of _Fog Troupe_ , but instead you stirred up trouble," he said in an annoyed voice.

Tettia clenched her fists, resisting the urge to punch the lazy bastard sitting on the throne. Sinbad held her back as he said, "I'll leave the negotiations to you brothers. I have a principle of not meddling with other countries's domestic affairs."

"You still have the cheek to say that. Haven't you meddled enough already!?" came his annoying voice.

Snickering quietly, Tettia whispered, "He has a point, Sin…"

Quickly glancing at the half-Fanalis to his right, he whispered back, "Hush you…" he then cleared his throat and said in his normal voice, "Here, Prince Alibaba, say it. Don't you have many concerns to raise?"

Sabhmad spoke to his brother, "Let's, let's listen… Ahbmad… A-Alibaba… is a sensible person… I-I know this as a fact."

Sinbad and Tettia stepped aside, allowing Alibaba to step forward, and said, "Ahbmad… you should know it too… the incident of the palace treasury… and even father's death, you could say it was caused by me. I know… that I've committed crimes that could never be forgiven… but… why did the _Fog Troupe_ pillage the palace treasury…? And at the same time, why do the people flood the palace now…? Please think about it! The feelings of your citizens! The administration now is causing the poor to suffer! I understand this because I, myself, grew up in the slums! This is the reason for my presence here today. I ask of your majesty, to promise that you'll use all of your strength to ensure the citizen's livelihood! After that, I'll disband the _Fog Troupe_!" Ahbmad looked down at Alibaba for a few brief moments before he signaled for the guards to get involved. They shoved the third prince away. "Wait! You still haven't…" he began again only to be cut off.

"How disrespectful," said the lazy bastard king.

"What?" asked a wide-eyed Alibaba.

Clutching the staff tightly, the lazy king spoke, "It is insulting that a thief is actually speaking to the king. Even more so that you brought another thief with you. As I am the twenty-third king of Balbadd, Ahbmad Saluja, a thief like you has no right to speak to me. I have _never_ recognized you, an orphan from the slums, as my brother. Do not forget. If not for the protection of Sindria's king, you would have lost your head already. You and that little wench of yours. _Sigh_ , fall back now, I don't feel well… it's all because of those maggots from outside the palace…"

Tettia was about to lunge towards the king, to punch him, to put him in his place, but Sinbad stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't do it… Bad Tet," he said.

"But… Sin, he _needs_ to be put in his _proper_ place…" she growled, glaring daggers at the fat, lazy, and greedy king. There was no way she could keep quiet. "DON'T SCREW AROUND, YOU BIG, FAT BABY! As someone who describes his own citizens like that! You have _NO_ right to be king! ABSOLUTELY NONE!" she screamed, marching her way away from Sinbad and almost made it passed Alibaba. Thankfully, Alibaba grabbed her wrist, stopping her. If he had not stopped her, Tettia probably would have easily murdered the king.

"Oh, Ahbmad, what is this ruckus all about?" asked a man, who approached Ahbmad.

Glaring at the man, Tettia growled, "Oh… what a _glorious_ day! And just who is this asshole?!"

Alibaba pulled Tettia back. "Tet… shh… don't worry about him. Don't worry about this. Again, this is my problem. Last thing I want it you getting yourself killed trying to take out Ahbmad… he's not worth your life," he said to her.

Somehow, that calmed her down. "Y-you're right…"

Ahbmad looked over at the man, ignoring what Alibaba was doing. "Oh, you're back _Banker_!"

"Yes, I've returned King Ahbmad," said the banker.

Boring banter ensued as the banker introduced himself to Sinbad, his face causing Tettia to jolt in an emotion between disgust and utter fear. The banker said that his name was Markkio. Sinbad introduced himself to Markkio and told the banker that he hoped to get along with the banker in the future. That was when someone barged into the throne room. "Out of the way, out of the way! Why's there so many people blocking the way today-…" someone said and stopped. Sinbad looked back and was not happy with who he saw. "Hey! If it isn't the Stupid King!" exclaimed the young man.

"Judar, do you know each other?" asked the lazy king.

Judar replied, "You can say that! This guy here – always gets in my way!"

Quickly realizing that Sinbad may not know who that way, Ahbmad said, "Ah. Sinbad. Let me introduce him. This is Judar, _Oracle_ of the Kou Empire."

"That's right, I'm currently employed as the Oracle of the Kou Empire! Even today, the reason I'm here is also because of official business, you know?" said Judar, smiling smugly.

Sinbad looked like he had been shot through the heart. _Has Judar already infiltrated the Kou Empire…!? And extended his clutches to Balbadd. Then, that man is also…_

Ahbmad sighed, "I'm sorry Sinbad, but please return now for today. I'll forget about you spreading the news. I still have many government affairs to attend to."

"Wait a second. Our conversation isn't over yet," said Sinbad.

"Oh… the talk about reopening trade with Sindria? Sorry, but I can't fulfill that agreement."

Tettia crossed her arms, glaring at Ahbmad. "Excuse me now?" she asked, clearly irritated.

Sinbad nodded, agreeing with Tettia. "I agree. What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I've handed all of Balbadd's trade authorizations… to the Kou Empire! Without the approval of the Kou Empire, Balbadd can't trade with any other countries," explained the lazy king, speaking with pride at his stupid decision.

Growling and throttling an imaginary neck, Tettia yelled quietly through gritted teeth, "You're fucking _KIDDING_ me?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT, YOU FAT LAZY TWAT?!" She took in a deep, deep breath to calm down. "Look here, Brat… do you intend to let the Kou Empire completely control Balbadd?" she asked full of blatant irritation.

"My country isn't being _controlled_. This is just a policy suggested by Banker to revive Balbadd's economy," spoke the fat, foolish king as he defended the foolish decision he made.

The banker smiled, his faced seemed to be permanently stuck in a smile. "That's right! Connecting the economies of countries together peacefully! This is the job of Bankers! Oh! Since you're a king too, do you want to try handing over you country's economic affairs for us to manage?"

Sinbad glared at the Banker, thinking to himself. "Wait! I have not finished what I wanted to say! Promise me now… to protect those who are suffering! Promise me… as king!" exclaimed Alibaba.

"Yeah! You need to get your head on straight before someone knocks it back for you! Promise him… _us_ , this, you brat!" exclaimed Tettia.

Ahbmad yawned as he said, "Sinbad, please remove those _things_ from here. I can't understand the words of trash from the slums."

Alibaba looked at Ahbmad with wide eyes, both of them lunged towards the lazy king, being stopped by the guards, and Sinbad holding them back. "Don't Alibaba, Tettia! We should withdraw first!"

"I'M NOT FROM THIS COUNTRY, YOU FAT BASTARD!" yelled Tettia, struggling against the guards, who were pushing them out.

"Ahbmad! Listen to me! We have no differences as humans! Listen to me! You bastard!" yelled Alibaba.

That night, many citizens crowded around the _Fog Troupe_ 's base, located at the light house in the old slums. The clamor of the people filled the air. "How did the negotiations with the king go!?" exclaimed one citizen.

Inside, the members of the _Fog Troupe_ who staying in the base were also in a state of panic. That was because during the time when Alibaba and Tettia went for negotiations, Cassim, Zaynab and Hassan disappeared without a trace. "What happened to the negotiations?" asked one member.

"From what it looks, it didn't seem like it was successful…"

"What'll become of us from now on…"

"Will the military attack us?"

"No way! That never happened before!"

"That was just because Cassim had a helper in the place. Now that the entire Cadre is gone… we're all done for…"

Inside Alibaba and Tettia's room, the two sat on Alibaba's bed. Aladdin and Morgiana were there, and the all sat in silence. "Alibaba, Tet, how did the negotiations go?" asked Aladdin.

"He… couldn't say anything at all…" said Tettia.

"Ahbmad didn't even see me… as a human at all… I did what I could… but the results are still the same…" muttered Alibaba.

Aladdin smiled. "That's not true, Alibaba, Tet," he said sweetly. "You can hear it too right? Just you two daring to face the king for negotiations, has already moved this many people. The things you two've done aren't for nothing. Didn't you two change some things today?"

Alibaba and Tettia smiled at Aladdin. "Thank you, Aladdin," they said.

"But… what do we do next? I believe we'll have to break the news to the _Fog Troupe_ and the people outside…" said Morgiana.

Tettia and Alibaba looked down at the ground. "But… the negotiations failed. I don't really know where to start," they said.

"True…" said Morgiana.  
Tora kicked down the door, "C'mon you dumbasses! Sin said that we're going to fucking announce the outcome or today's bullshit negotiations to the members of the _Fog Troupe_." She dragged them out of the room, both Tettia and Alibaba. They headed to the basement.

Alibaba and Tettia stood slightly behind Sinbad. Ja'far and Tora nudged them forward. "Please step forward," the two said.

The duo looked at each other, pain in their eyes. They were both so disappointed that the negotiations had gone terribly wrong. "Everyone, let us say this straight. The negotiations today have failed," they said. As their faces contorted in shock, the duo sighed and Alibaba continued, "The opposite part has completely rejected our offer. The difference between us and the military are already a decided reality."

"Is… is that so…" sighed someone.

"It's over…" another sighed.

Sinbad spoke, "What do you mean by _'It's over'_? To begin with, for what reasons did you even fight? To escape from poverty, to feed your family, or you may not even have such a noble reason at all. However, for all your reasons, after all those acts of theft, for the first time today… you've had a negotiation with the king face-to-face. You guys… towards the people who mistreat you… for the first time today, finally! Haven't you protested from a dignified position!? Remember the reasons for you actions! Don't forget it! Is there still anyone down there thinking that it's the end today!?" He spoke like the king he was, evoking passion within the members of the Fog Troupe, none of who nodded at his question. Instead, all eyes gazed at Sinbad with fire in them. Sinbad nodded and continued, "Good. If that is so, I'll lend you all my strength. I'll defeat whoever they send and if you're chased out of this country, I'll accept you as my citizens!"

Ja'far and Tora were surprised by their king's bold statement. "Sin… if we admit any more refugees, Sindria is going to suffer an economic crisis," whispered the white-haired advisor.

"Yeah, you idiot! Don't promise these people something you can't uphold," hissed Tora.

Laughing, Sinbad replied to their concerns, "I'll take care of those kinds of things! The world is filled with many unreasonable things. Admitting those who suffer from such, that's the reason why my country was built."

Tora pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily, "Ya know what, Sinbad… do _whatever_ the fuck you want! You never really listen to me and Ja'far anyways…"

Alibaba, Tettia, and Morgiana looked at the king of Sindria in disbelief; meanwhile, Aladdin was smiling. "How amazing," said the young Magi.

"Yeah, so _that's_ a king…" said Alibaba.

Tettia chuckled, "Looks like we've made an extraordinary friend, huh?! A really attractive, responsible friend~"

Alibaba looked at Tettia as she said that. Noticing how she was looking at Sinbad with admiration and something else, Alibaba felt something he had not felt before bubble within him. He laughed it off, though.

The Nando brothers conversed with each other, when from above them, Judar exclaimed, "HEY, SINBAD!"

Tora whipped her head around to look up at the dark Magi. "Ugh! What are _you_ doing here, Judar!?" she yelled.

Judar landed, as he was on his carpet, and walked towards the king, almost saluting him in a mocking way. "Hey, Stupid King! What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I know you ain't ignoring, you idiot!" exclaimed Tora in an irritated tone.

Sinbad spoke in a tone which was serious and border-lined annoyed, "Judar, were you sent under Ahbmad's orders? Or did the Kou Empire send you?"

Tora sighed. "Massy! That asshole is ignoring me!" she whined, latching onto Masrur's arm.

Judar's red ringed eyes looked at Sinbad as he asked, "…huh?" After a moment, the young long black-haired man beamed, continuing, "No no! It's nothing like that! To tell you the truth, those things don't matter to me at all!"

"What the hell do you plan to do with this country, asshole?!" exclaimed Tora, still hanging off of Masrur's arm.

Finally acknowledging Tora's existence, Judar shrugged. "… Who knows? I don't have a single bit of interest about all those things about the economy that the old man talks about… Tora, you should know right? What I _truly_ like… is _war_ ," he said, staring at Tora with a sickeningly happy grin. "The Kou Empire is strong! Having countless amounts of soldiers, _Dungeon Captures_ as generals, and even dungeon monsters as part of the army! Aren't they awesome!?"

"You…!" hissed Tora and Sinbad.

Aladdin looked over at Ja'far. Just as he was about to as the white-haired advisor a question, Tettia asked, "Hey, Jaffy, do you know that jerk?"

Ja'far looked at Tettia with an almost sad expression. He sighed as he replied, "He is Judar, and he has a long history of accumulated hatred with us. What's more, he's the same as Aladdin, he's a Magi."

"Magi?!" both Tettia and Aladdin exclaimed, whipping their heads to look at Judar.

"Oh! You shouldn't misunderstand! The one whom I want to work together with most is Sinbad! I just can't **_stand_** the emperor of the Kou Empire~! That's why, you should cut it out, Sinbad, and partner with me in attaining world domination," said Judar.

Just the thought of that had Tettia shaking her head violently. "No way would the greatest king on the planet join you, you punk!" she exclaimed.

Sinbad glanced back at her and smiled, before his face returned to holding a serious expression. "Yes, it's as Tet put it. Also, I have repeated myself _many_ times already. I won't be your puppet," he said.

"Yeah! Take that answer and get the hell outta here," growled Tora.

Sighing and sitting down, Judar said, "Then again, who are these bunch of people? Gathering in droves…" That was when Judar's red eyes caught Aladdin's blue ones. He snapped his head to look at the young blue-haired Magi with surprise. Both Magi looked at one another with utter shock. "Hm? Who's _this_ guy? Hey, Sinbad… the Rukh around this guy is weird. Who is he exactly?" he asked, pointing at Aladdin.

The king sighed, it was not like he could keep Aladdin's identity a secret forever. "… He's the same as you, a Magi," he said.

Judar got up real close to Aladdin. "This _runt_ is a Magi!? No way~~!? Magi are supposed to be amazing beings! When Rukh was sent out to change the world, they're considered the strongest magic users with the largest amount of Magoi in the creation of the world. That's Magi! How can you tell me to accept that there are other Magi besides myself!?" exclaimed Judar.

"… Precisely because he is a Magi, you even responded to him," calmly said Sinbad.

Judar gazed at Sinbad before he turned around to face Aladdin. Smiling and waving, he said, "Hello, runt! I'm Judar, you are?" He reached a hand out towards Aladdin.

"I… I'm Aladdin," answered Aladdin.

Still smiling, Judar spoke, "As fellow Magi, let's get along well from now on!" As the young boy reached out, the older Magi punched him in the face. Aladdin went staggering backwards, into Tettia. "Hey hey~! Are you saying that this slow guy is the same as _me_ , a Magi? Sinbad, don't tell me you've decided to abandon me to work together with that guy?"

Tettia growled threateningly at Judar. "He has _nothing_ to do with that!" exclaimed Sinbad, "We just happened to meet each other in this country."

"Then that's fine, but~~! Hey, runt, if you are _really_ a Magi, you should have a candidate to be king by your side, right?" asked the older Magi. Tettia and Alibaba were on their knees, the half-Fanalis with her arms around Aladdin. "There should be _at least_ one or two. Come one, runt! Call out your candidates!" Aladdin looked at Judar, wondering what he meant. Tettia and Alibaba were glaring harshly at the older Magi. "Hey, are you ignoring me? Whatever~ I'll just find him by myself~" pouted Judar.

Activating some kind of power, Judar looked around. His eyes landed on Alibaba's knife. He had found the young Magi's King's Candidate. "I've found you," he said, pointing at the blond. "Hm? I seem to remember you. You're that guy that was bullied by Ahbmad earlier today! And, look, it's your little girlfriend, too. You _both_ looked so worried then~! I saw you both scream at the top of your lungs, but you both were treated like nothing… and you, blondie, even cried in the end when you were called a maggot~! Hahahaha," laughed Judar. Tettia and Alibaba clenched their fists tightly, both shaking in rage. "Really… you're both such useless people…"

Tettia was about to attack the older Magi, before Aladdin yelled, "They're not useless! Alibaba… and Tet are not useless! Because I know it! Alibaba knew right from the beginning that he might not be recognized. But for the sake of others, he put aside his fears to do something that no one has dared to do. He is a brave person! Tet went with him to just _be_ there for him, even though she had no right being there for him! There's no way their useless people!" The blue-eyed young Magi's expression was serious.

"Aladdin…" muttered Alibaba in an almost shaky voice as he looked at the bluenette.

Tettia gulped and looked at Aladdin with pride in her eyes. "L-Laddin…" she muttered in a shaky voice.

"Hmph, runt. Is this guy _really_ a candidate for king that's worth such high hopes? Is that girlie going to become one, too? Hmph… I don't see it… at all!" said Judar, pulling out a wand from his shirt. He then hit Alibaba in the stomach. Tettia gasped and kneeled down, helping the blond sit back up, her crimson eyes became as cold as daggers as she glared at Judar. "Look, he's way too weak! And so is that girlie! She just immediately got down to help blondie!"

"JUDAR!" yelled Sinbad.

"FUCK YOU! GO AWAY!" yelled Tora.

Judar smiled darkly. "Sinbad! Why did you mingle with these _boring_ people!? Did you become even stupider!?" Aladdin gathered Rukh and stood before Judar, a hardened look on the youngster's face. "Heh, so you're going to do it?" asked Judar.

Tettia knew what Aladdin had to do. "Kick his ass, Laddin," she cheered. Alibaba laughed as she cheered. Tora was still screaming at Judar to leave.


	13. The Glorious Beginnings of Jealousy!

**Chapter Thirteen: The Glorious Beginnings of Jealousy!**

* * *

Morgiana looked at Aladdin with amazement, recalling the power he was using against Judar was just like when he had fought against her in Amon's Dungeon. Morgiana looked at the older Fanalis, who was looking down at the blond in her lap. "You'll be fine, Ali," Tettia told the blond with a sweet smile.

"You look eager to fight, don't you!? Hey!?" taunted Judar.

Aladdin glared at the older Magi. "I don't want to fight with you, but if you intend to hurt us again, then I will stop you," he said in a stern voice.

Quite frankly, that sudden sternness in his voice caused Tettia to look at Aladdin. "You got this, Laddin! I know you do," she encouraged.

Sinbad was not having two Magi fight because one of them was a petty douchebag. "Stop it! The both of you," he demanded.

Cracking her knuckles, Tora added, "Yeah! Knock it the hell off… _Judar_! Before I beat the shit outta ya!"

Judar looked over his shoulder coldly at the two. "Shut up Sinbad. You too, Tora. This is a _fight between Magi_. Normal people have no right to interfere. Anyway, Sinbad, it's not like you can stop me now. I've seen it just now… you don't even have a metal vessel on you now," retorted the older, more bratty Magi.

"Masrur! Tora!" called Sinbad.

Tora and Masrur shared a look before they lunged towards Judar. Their attacks were ineffective against Judar. "We can't use our household vessels now," said Masrur.

"That shouldn't effect my abilities!" yelled a confused Tora.

"Damn it!" exclaimed Sinbad.

"Ok then, let's start, runty Magi. First… let's start off by a competition of firing Magoi," said Judar. And thus began the fight between two Magi. Judar tried puncturing everyone full of holes. Aladdin threw a huge ball of Magoi at Judar, unfortunately, Judar's magic bubble protected him. Judar saw the pointlessness of fighting with Magoi, and therefore decided to fight with actual magic: something Aladdin did not know how to use.

Nobody knew what he was talking about, as they had possibly never seen magic before. As a result, Judar gave a winded explanation as he created a magic spell. Sinbad asked Aladdin if the young Magi knew how to wield magic, to which the boy replied "no". Sighing to himself, Sinbad explained how Judar had done that. Judar got pissy and threw the thunder-ball at them.

Aladdin tried to deflect the attack, but it was too powerful. Judar asked a stupid question as the smoke cleared, the older Magi saw Ugo, who had taken the hit for Aladdin.

"Alright… I'll accept it, that you're a Magi, runt," said Judar. He gathered the fog from his surrounding and made it into a giant shard of ice. "My specialty is ice magic!"

Tettia groaned, "I hate ice! Fire is where it is at!"

Sinbad noticed that Judar was using multiple magic spells at once, and was slightly annoyed by it. No way could a child like Aladdin stand up to that. Judar started to peel some ice away from the huge chunk of ice he created. Then he made them shoot down from the sky, causing the people to scramble.

*** (I'm lazy and just wanna jump to making Alibaba jealous… so, forget the Magi battle…)

Everyone was shocked by Ugo's actions. Judar laid, unconscious on the ground, completely vulnerable. "Ugo! Ugo!" yelled Aladdin as he walked towards Ugo.

When Sinbad realized that Ugo was going for the kill, he exclaimed, "This is bad. Everyone run!"

"It can't be! Ugo!" exclaimed Tettia and Aladdin.

Ugo's attack connected and it was so powerful, it shattered the ground below them. Everyone went flying into the air. Tettia immediately grabbed onto Alibaba, Aladdin and whoever else she could grab. Morgiana did the same thing. "You alright, Laddin?" asked Tettia.

"Y-yeah… I'm fine! Thanks, Tet," said Aladdin with a smile.

Alibaba gasped, "How many people did you save, Tet?"

Tettia brushed dirt off of herself as she replied, "Eight."

"Thats amazing," the blond said in amazement. "What about the others from the Fog Troupe!?"

"They're fine," Tettia and Morgiana said. "Thanks to Sin, there doesn't seem to be any victims. Because of his call, everyone was able to escape relatively quickly. But… it's already over for that person…" said Tettia, looking down at the impact crater.

Alibaba was so confused. "…Say, Aladdin, what happened to Ugo," he asked.

"He seems to be moving by his own will…? I don't know… it's the first time I've seen something like this happened too, I…" said Aladdin.

From above them came a female's voice, one nobody recognized, "Oh my… what's that? That monster… doesn't it look like he bullied our cute Judar a bit much?"

Aladdin, his two Fanalis companions and Alibaba whipped their heads around, looking up. What they saw was a bunch of people on a flying carpet. The female the voice presumably came from was in the middle of a bunch of _men_ who were noticeably dungeon beasts (at least to Tettia), and her pink eyes glowered down at those below her. Tettia wanted to pull her down by that dark pink hair of hers an proceed to beat her senseless. There was almost a man standing beside her, presumably her advisor or something. "We've managed to save him by a hair's breath. But, he's badly injured," said the man beside the pinkette.

"Hey Ka Koubun, heal Judar properly. It won't be a joke if he dies," said the girl from behind her sleeve. Something that had Tettia rolling her eyes, scoffing.

Ka Koubun replied from behind a fan of some sort, "Understood, princess. He _is_ our _precious_ Oracle."

"What? Those people…" said a member of the Fog Troupe, pointing at them.

Ja'far said, not taking his honed eyes off of the airborne enemy, "Sin."

Sinbad sweat-dropped. "Yeah… they're… people from the Kou Empire!"

"Kou Empire!?" exclaimed Alibaba and Tettia, looking up at the Kou Empire people.

Tora sighed, putting a hand on her hip. "On top of that bullshit, they're using some damn large-scale magic tools. And that guy… we aren't gonna get started on that shit," she said, rubbing her temple. The purplenette really did not like people from the Kou Empire, they think that they are all that, and she really hated people like that.

Ugo was still acting on his own. "What, does that _monster_ _still_ want to fight? Then, I'll become his opponent," said the princess in a blatantly cocky way.

"Please be careful, princess," said her advisor.

Reaching for the pin in her hair, the princess said, "It's alright, leave it to me. Go and heal Judar. Spirits of sorrow and isolation, in the name of my Magoi, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members. Come forth, Vinea!" The princess's Djinn's power came through; it was regular, old water. "Here I go!" she exclaimed with a sickeningly happy expression.

"NO FUCKING WAY?! A bitch like _that_ has a Djinn!?" yelled Tora in absolute shock.

Sinbad was very shocked, "A user of a Djinn's metal vessel!"

Ugo lunged at the princess. "I'll finish you, you monster," said the princess, still in a cocky tone.

Tettia groaned, rolling her eyes, "I have a feeling I'm gonna want to kill this bitch _real_ soon…"

"Fucking same," said Tora, shifting her weight, crossing her arms, glaring up at the princess.

Crimson eyes looked into pinkish-red eyes. "Wanna double-team and kill her later?" asked Tettia.

Smirking, the purplenette replied, "I _really_ love the way you think! _But_ , I'm sure we can come up with a way to torture this bitch hardcore without killing her… as much as I want to…"

As the two friends talked, the princess had used Djinn Equip and basically _killed_ Ugo. "Oooooohhhh… shit…" said Tettia and Tora.

Aladdin's eyes widened. "UGO!" he called out in horror. As the princess and her party were about to retreat, Aladdin shot a ball of Magoi at her, chasing after her on his magic turban. A serious, pissed off, and hurt look on his face.

"Who are you? So repugnant…" said the princess from behind her sleeve, "We merely saved you and your comrades from being attacked by the monster."

The young Magi was quick to reply, "You're wrong! Ugo was fighting to _protect_ me — to protect _everyone_! _He_ was the one who attacked first!" The young bluenette pointed at the older, black-haired Magi.

"… I see… so…" the princess glared at Aladdin like he was scum, " _You're_ the master of that monster then? So those people down there too… are _comrades_ of that monster…?"

Ka Koubun asked, "What do you plan to do now, princess?"

The princess raised her hand. "We have no choice but to put things in order. Enshin, Entai, Engi, get rid of them!" Ordered the princess.

The three dungeon beasts suddenly lunged towards the ground. "EXCUSE ME?!" screamed an infuriated Tettia and Tora. All of the people looked on in horror as those terrifying beasts fell from the sky, intend on slaughtering all of them.

"What… WHAT are these guys!?" exclaimed Alibaba.

"Fucking dungeon monsters! That's what these bastards are," Tettia and Tora said, glaring at the three beasts dangerously.

"I'll take care of this _child_. You three _will_ take care of those trash…" said the princess.

"Kill everyone!" one beast said, beginning to attack.

Everyone panicked and began to run away. The elephant monster stomped angrily. People cried out for help. The elephant monster, Entai, charged at a large group of people. "Tora, stop him!" said Sinbad.

Tora grabbed Entai by the trunk. "Hey fuck-face," she said dangerously. When she felt herself becoming overpowered, she called out, "Massy! I need help!" Masrur came to help his wife, but even still the couple were struggling to keep Entai at bay.

 _His strength is actually on par with both Tora and Masrur…?!_ thought Sinbad as he narrowed his eyes at the elephant monster.

Morgiana and Ja'far were facing Enshin and his monkeys, soon the two were back to back. "Morgiana! There's too many of them! Let's team up to protect everyone!" said Ja'far as he caught some with his wires. Morgiana agreed that they should team up.

Tettia and Alibaba were going up against Engi. Alibaba was still hurt from Judar's earlier attack, as he was still holding his side. "Is everyone alright? Stay behind me and Tet!" exclaimed the injured blond. Engi stood in front of the duo, sword drawn, he lunged at Alibaba. Instantly drawing her daggers, Tettia jumped in front of Alibaba, deflecting Engi's lunges on par.

"Ohh… both of your swordsmanships isn't bad… let's have a dual," he said.

Tettia snickered. "Sure, if you want to lose. You're at a disadvantage… I wield twin daggers while you have a single blade," she said, not feeling cocky, but stating facts.

The princess and Aladdin land. "Everyone seems happy! From now on, I'll get serious too," she said in a condescending tone. Water began to envelope her Dijnn Equip. "Spirits of sorrow and isolation, I order you to gather around me and attach yourselves to me and impose yourself, the great Djinn upon my body, Vinea!"

Before this could fully happen, Sinbad grabbed her wrist. "Stop this, miss!" he exclaimed, using his Magoi to make her stop.

Looking pissed, the princess yelled, "What, who are you!?" She realized that her Djinn Equip was disappearing. "Wha…what?!"

The bratty princess collapsed as her Djinn Equip was disengaged by Sinbad's Magoi. "Miss, you seem to be the Kou Empire's princess…" he said, in a more calm voice.

The princess looked up at Sinbad. "…Who— who are… you…!?" she asked.

"I'm Sinbad. The king of Sindria, King Sinbad," he said.

There must have been something in the way Sinbad stared at the princess, because she sure did begin to blush under his gaze. Tettia saw this and growled, hell no was she going to just let that bratty princess crush on Sinbad. An evil idea brewed in the half-Fanalis's head as the princess stood up. "So you're… you're that King Sinbad…?" the princess asked and squeezed the king's hand. Snatching her hand away from his hand, she squeaked annoyingly, "How — how long do you plan on holding me, you insolent man!"

"My apologies, princess," apologized Sinbad. "But, I had to stop you. We're people of royalty. We shouldn't have a dispute in this kind of place."

Pointing at Aladdin, the princess stuttered, "Bu…but… that child…!"

Walking over to Sinbad, putting her daggers away as she walked, Tettia glared at the princess as she passed. "What do you think you're doing, _girlie_? Blaming this on a child like Laddin. Are you sure you're actually royalty? Because you're sure acting like a brat. Also, I would like it if you stop ogling Sinbad like you're doing," sneered an annoyed Tettia. Tora laughed, Tettia had found the way to make this princess suffer.

The princess looked at Tettia like the half-Fanalis had lost it. "Excuse me?! Who do you think you are?!" questioned an annoyed Kou Empire princess.

Coming to stand beside Sinbad, Tettia crossed her arms and glared harshly at the dark pinkette princess. "I am Tettia. _Queen_ of Sindria," growled Tettia. Turning her crimson gaze towards Aladdin, she continued, in a sweet yet stern tone, "Laddin, this matter ends here. You need to withdraw your staff too. As much as she deserves to be hit with it."

Though he was confused at Tettia's sudden claim, Sinbad looked at Aladdin as well. "It's alright, a Djinn will not die from an attack of this degree. Your friend is still alive. Furthermore, it's not your style to act on impulse and fight, isn't it…?"

Aladdin gulped and knew that his friends were right. He lowered his staff. Turning their attention back to the princess, Sinbad said, "Princess. _We're_ currently staying in this country as a king _and queen_ , apparently, from another country for a reason. If the princess is the same, then I, personally, would like to meet with you somewhere more appropriate."

Hiding her face, the princess said, "I understand… everyone, we're returning." Ka Koubun said something, but was overruled, "It's ok, we'll return today!" Revealing her blushing face, she pointed at Sinbad, continuing, "It's not because of you said it that I'm returning now! Got it!" With that, they left, but not before the princess shot a deadly glare at Tettia.

Waving with a glare, Tettia said, "Bye, little bitch!"

Now that they had left, Sinbad whipped his head around to look at Tettia. "Just what the hell are you doing?! You aren't my _queen_!" he exclaimed.

Smirking, the now queen of Sindria said, "She _obviously_ has the hots for you; however, being the raging _bitch_ that I am, I refuse to let her continue to have those feelings. Therefore, I claim to be married to you. It's perfect. Plus, she's an idiot if she thinks you'd like someone like her, she acts like a brat."

Tora squealed, "Damn right! You're such an evil bitch, Tet! But, I love it!" Pulling her new _queen_ close to her, the purplenette whispered into Tettia's ear, "You're also trying to make Babwa jealous, aren't'cha?"

Giggling quietly, Tettia whispered back, "Is my plan _that_ obvious?"

"Nah, I'm just that _fucking_ good when it comes up plans like this," whispered Tora, with a goofy smile. Having their whispered conversation end, they pulled away from each other's ears, Tettia and Tora were grinning like fools. Their plan was now active, and Tora was going to try her best to make sure that Alibaba got super jealous. Unfortunately, Tettia had not seen Aladdin pumping Magoi into Ugo's flute. For if she had, she would have stopped him from doing so immediately.

Many people were injured in the attack. While Sinbad and his comrades, along with Morgiana, tended to the injured, Alibaba and Tettia were in their shared room. "It hurst…" mumbled Alibaba, referring to his injuries sustained when Judar attacked him. He lifted up his shirt, touching his injury. "Damn it…" he groaned.

"Hey, hey! Just what the hell do you think you're doing?! Put your shirt down and stop touching your injury," said Tettia, gently swatting at Alibaba's hand.

Sighing heavily and hanging his head in shame, Alibaba muttered, "Just what am I doing… I couldn't even do anything when Aladdin and the _Fog Troupe_ were being attacked. Even though I have the power of a metal vessel, if I can't fight at the critical moment, then there's no meaning to having it at all! I'm so useless… so useless, it makes me angry!"

Tettia resisted the urge to slap the blond at his stupid mutterings. "Would you shut up about that? You're not _useless_ , you were fucking injured you idiot! You really couldn't fight," she spoke sternly.

"This isn't the time to be injured… yet, I have injuries everywhere," he said, looking at his injuries. "There are even injuries over here… here too. Here as well… there's one here too…" he said, looking at injuries in more _intimate_ locations.

Covering her eyes, Tettia blushed and said, "Must you _really_ look at your injuries now?!"

Knocking then opening the door, Morgiana said, "Alibaba, Te—" She was promptly pushed back out of the room by an irritated Tettia before she could see Alibaba in the _compromising and revealing_ position he was in. "GET OUT MORG!" yelled Tettia.

"I was checking on your injuries!" exclaimed Morgiana.

Almost glaring at the purebred Fanalis for what she almost saw, Tettia said from the doorway, "Give _me_ the bandages and I will tend to Ali's wounds… you… yeah, you don't need to see him right now."

Morgiana looked at Tettia. "What do you mean? You _both_ have injuries, I should tend to them," she said.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, the half-Fanalis sighed, " _No_ , you don't. I am perfectly capable of tending to Ali's wounds as well as my own. Just give me the bandages, please. Go tend to more people. Ali and myself have it covered."

Pouting angrily, Morgiana reluctantly handed Tettia the bandages. "Fine…" she muttered.

Taking the bandages, Tettia smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Morg. Now, please, go take care of more people," the semi-wavy haired older girl said.

With her anger melting away at the smile, Morgiana nodded. "If you say so, Tettia. Come find me if you need anything."

"Oh, I will. Though, I doubt we'll need anything. Thanks for the bandages," replied Tettia, waving to the purebred Fanalis as she walked down the hallway. Closing the door and leaning against it, Tettia sighed heavily, " _Fucking hell_ … you're lucky I was here, Ali! Or Morgiana would have seen you like that."

Having gotten un-contorted from his rather compromising position from a few minute prior, Alibaba sat on his bed, his face bright red. "Y-yeah… t-thanks for being here to spare her that image," he stuttered embarrassedly.

"You're welcome. Plus, it's not like I can just _allow_ another woman to see you like that. That's only for _me_ to lay my crimson eyes on," Tettia said, snickering as she walked towards Alibaba.

"H-huh?!" questioned the blond.

Sitting down beside him and already beginning to bandage up his wounds, Tettia smirked, replying, "You know what I mean, Ali. Just like you have the key to _Alibaba Park_ , I've the key to _Tettia Park_."

Alibaba laughed nervously, his eyes looking anywhere but Tettia. "Don't you mean _Sinbad Park_. I'm fairly sure there isn't an _Alibaba Park_ anymore," he grumbled.

Tettia raised her eyebrows as she looked at the blond. Was her plan to make Alibaba jealous already working? Smirking to herself as she continued to tend to the blond's wounds, she said, "Aye… I suppose you have a point. Well, I mean, he is my _husband_ now… so you might have a point. No more _Alibaba Park_ … I guess."

"I _know_ there is no more _Alibaba Park_ ," grumbled Alibaba, glaring at the floor.

Tettia smiled to herself. _This is just perfect~! He's already showing signs of being jealous, nice! I kinda feel bad, but there's no fucking way I'm letting that bitch from the Kou Empire think she has a chance in hell with Sinbad_ , she thought to herself. "Don't worry, Ali, don't be too upset about it. I'm sure Sinbad will treat your park with care," she snickered.

The blond mumbled, rolling his eyes, "Yeah… sure… of course he will…"

Tettia laughed, "What was that, Ali? Do you not trust that Sin will take good care of me? Because, I know that as a king, he has the tenderness and care needed to handle me quite well."

"Will just hurry up, Tet? I need to help treat everyone else as well," griped Alibaba, trying to hide his obvious jealousy.

Alibaba's griping made Tettia laugh that much more. _He's really jealous… just over me saying how Sin will take care of_ ** _Alibaba Park_** _? He's actually pretty cute being jealous_ , she thought as she finished bandaging him up. "I wonder how Laddin's doing," said Tettia.

It was just as Alibaba opened his mouth to speak that Morgiana was banging on their door, saying, "Tet! Alibaba! Come out here, quickly!"

Pushing off the bed with a grunt, Tettia walked towards the door. "What's up, Morg?" asked the halfblooded Fanalis as she neared the door.

"It's Aladdin!" came the purebred's response.

Not even missing a beat, Tettia ripped the door open and bolted out of it. "LADDIN?! What happened with Laddin!?" yelled the halfblooded Fanalis.

Down the hallway, people were crowded around someone. "Hey! This child isn't breathing!" called someone. "This is bad… is he still alive!?" asked someone.

Tettia's crimson eyes widened as she bolted down the hallway. "OH MY SHIT! Laddin!" she screamed, pushing past the people crowded around the young Magi. Ugo's flute was on his chest, glowing. "Hey, little buddy, wake up," said Tettia, as she kneeled beside, lifting his head off the ground. "Please…"

Alibaba was quick to kneel beside Tettia as he called, "Hey, pull yourself together, Aladdin!"

"Aladdin!?" exclaimed Morgiana.

"What the hell is this ruckus about?" asked Tora as she walked up with Sinbad and Ja'far.

Tettia whipped her head to look at them, tears pricked her eyes. "S-Sin!" she cried out. "Help me!"

Almost immediately, the purple-haired king noticed the glowing flute. "This is bad! Hurry, take that flute away from him," he called. Promptly, Tettia ripped the flute out of Aladdin's hands.

"He's _very_ weak…" said Ja'far, "He's still alive, but he is in a very dangerous condition…"

Tettia looked down at the young boy she saw as a younger brother, tears still in her eyes. "D-dammit boy… y-you're making me cry…" she sniffled, gripping the end of her clothes very tightly.

Alibaba's honey orbs gazed at the half-Fanalis to his left and pried her right hand off her clothes just to hold it. A small gesture that spoke volumes, especially in that moment. He knew she was emotional right now, he was too, but to a significantly lesser degree. "How can this…? Just what happened to Aladdin!? This is even more severe than that time in the dungeon…" he said in Tettia's place, knowing her voice could not be trusted. After all, Tettia was almost having a breakdown as it killed her to see Aladdin like that, she squeezed Alibaba's hand tightly; to which he squeezed back.

Morgiana also looked down at the young boy with unspoken worry in her eyes, not nobody's worry was stronger than Tettia's was at that moment.

Sinbad sadly looked at Aladdin as he spoke, "He overused his Magoi. Magi can indeed use Magoi from his or her surroundings infinitely. However, this is limited to the amount their bodies can hold. When Aladdin could no longer take in Magoi from his surroundings… he used his own Magoi within his body — transferring them indefinitely into that flute. Using your Magoi is the same as extinguishing your own life. Magoi is the same as human life. Both are phenomena created by the Magoi of Rukhs. If your Magoi is depleted… even if you are still a Magi, you will still die."

"U-Ugo means _that_ much to you, h-huh…? He means so much that you'll die and leave _me_ alone?! Is that it, Laddin?!" cried out Tettia, squeezing Alibaba's hand even more, she was shaking as she tried to prevent herself from crying.

Sinbad felt really bad, he truly did. "In any case, Aladdin needs some rest. From the looks of it, he won't be waking up anytime soon…" he said.

Tettia felt tears fall from her eyes once she heard that. "Please wake up… please, Laddin… for me…" she muttered, leaning over the bluenette. "I love you, goofball… please wake up soon…" she kissed his cheek.

A short time later, Sinbad and his comrades were standing in the center of members of the Fog Troupe. "Ja'far, have you contacted our country?" asked Sinbad.

The white-haired advisor nodded. "I have contacted them," he said, "If they work quickly, support will arrive in a week."

"One damn week huh…" said Tora, with her arms crossed.

"Alright, let's immediately plan our battle strategy. I'm also worried about the movements of the Kou Empire…" said Sinbad.

From within the crowd, people turned to Alibaba and Tettia, who were still holding hands because Tettia refused to let go just yet. "Chief! Chief Alibaba! What should we do from now on!? What… what is going to happen to us, the _Fog Troupe_!?" members asked.

Tettia glared at all of them. "It will be alright. Everyone calm down. It's as my husband has said: no matter what happens, he'll think of a way to help all of us," she said.

"If he's your husband, why are you holding Chief Alibaba's hand?" asked someone.

"Honestly, I was so sure that her and Chief had something between them; therefore, I am kind of disappointed she is married. Chief deserves to be happy, and Tettia seems to make him _very_ happy," said another member.

Tettia blushed at what the latter member had said. She made Alibaba really happy? _Nah, no way. Not yet I don't make him_ ** _happy_** _, but soon I shall_ , she thought to herself.

Alibaba glared at the person who asked that. "Because she's been away from her _husband_ for such a long time and developed a good friendship with me, so she feels more comfortable holding _my_ hand, not _his_ ," he said lowly, almost in a growling tone.

Sinbad looked at his _wife_ and smiled, "My _wife_ does whatever she wants from time to time, I've just come to accept it. Anyway, support is currently rushing over here from Sindria! So, you guys have to have to keep your spirits up so that you can act at that critical moment!"

Having been rallied by Sinbad, one spoke, "Continue tending to the wounded!"

Alibaba and Tettia stood there, Alibaba squeezed her hand tightly. "C'mon, Ali… we should go tend to the wounded…" she muttered.

"Yeah… let's go do that. Might as well go and try to do something useful… I'm useless at everything else," the blond said lowly.

"Stop saying that! You're not useless, Alibaba Saluja. If you were so useless, you wouldn't've made friends with me and Laddin! You wouldn't've come this far. A few days ago you were a thug you had _no_ intentions of handling things in a diplomatic way, when a while ago, you took the first steps to handling this situation the way it should have been handled. You are far from useless, and I'm tired of you putting yourself down like that!"

Alibaba was shocked by her words. She had moved her hand from in his to the rope necklace around his neck, and pulled him towards the make-shift _infirmary_. Once they got into the infirmary, they started to tend to the wounded. Not long after that, people can in saying how the military was attacking. Both Tettia and Alibaba immediately went to the window, where there was just people Alibaba knew.

One of them was Sabhmad, the deputy king of Balbadd! Why had he come to the slums? Quickly, Alibaba ran down to meet Sabhmad, Tettia following not too far behind. "Young master," said the general. "I couldn't recognize you at all!"

"Barkak!" exclaimed Alibaba. Tettia looked up at the general, smiling at him.

Barkak smiled down at the blond. "I remember, years before, that you were only a small boy training in swordplay under my guidance. But, you look entirely different now," he said, recalling the past. "I'm here today under a secret order. The deputy king said that he had to see you no matter what…"

Sabhmad walked towards Alibaba. Both the blond and his right hand Fanalis were confused. "Sabhmad…" they questioned. "Why did you come to a place like this?" asked the blond.

The deputy king shivered. "Ali… Alibaba, you are… really amazing… to… to have this kind of ba-base… and to have become the leader of this large thieves' guild… you're really, really awesome…" he began, shaking and shivering, his body caving in on itself. Tettia looked at Sabhmad with a tender expression. "But… but I'm just so useless… my body just can never stop shivering… it's the same even, even now… when there are so many strangers around me… my… my legs just can't stop shaking…!"

"Well, I can see where you get thinking your so useless from, Ali. Hey, Sabhmad, honey, you aren't useless… after all, you came here, just to talk with Ali despite all that, did you not?" asked Tettia, smiling sweetly at the deputy king.

Barkak grabbed Sabhmad's shoulder. "I agree with that young lady. Young master… even though the deputy king is in this state, he _insisted_ on seeing you… just to tell you something important. To us, this place is our enemy's territory. Please try to understand how the deputy king is risking his life to come here," he said.

That was when Sinbad walked up. "Ah! If it isn't Sabhmad," he said, waving at the deputy king. Tettia whipped her head around and immediately attacked Sinbad with a hug, almost knocking the two of them over. "Well, hello to you too, Tet. Sabhmad, for someone who is so afraid to appear in front of others, why are you here? It's rather plausible that… this is just another one of Ahbmad's order, right?" asked the purple-haired king, walking with Tettia on his arm. "Be at ease. I will prepare a place for our discussion, and I will ensure your safety as well," he spoke.

Alibaba narrowed his eyes at Sinbad as Tettia hugged herself close to the king's arm. _Why am I so annoyed seeing Tet with Sinbad?_ the blond questioned himself as he still glared at the king. Tora had suddenly appeared and was walking beside Tettia, snickering into her ear, whispering something.

"I have to apologize… to have you face such dangers…" spoke Sabhmad.

With Tettia still on his arm, Sinbad said, "I understand now. Although I have already figured out that for someone to hold such important information, it has to be someone who holds a key role… if it's you, I can understand. In other words, the information leaks regarding the empire's army, as well as how the _Fog Troupe_ found my location… they were all your doings, weren't they Sahbmad?"

Tettia clutched onto Sinbad's upper arm tighter, almost pouting. "How dare you put my beloved husband's life in possible danger. I can't be too mad though, because he has me and so many others to protect him since he has no metal vessels right now," she said with a loving smile directed upwards at Sinbad.

Ruffling her hair, Sinbad laughed, "My wife does have a point. I do many many people to assist me in a fight, as I did manage to get my luggage stolen."

Blushing, Tettia leaned against her husband. "Yeah~" she gushed.

"Hey, Sin, I think your wife likes it when you play with her hair," said Tora, seeing how much Tettia did enjoy it.

"Oh, do you now, my lovely Tet?" asked Sinbad, smiling down at his lovely little wife.

That caused Tettia's blush to worsen, "M-maybe I do…"

Sinbad chuckled, "Then remind me to play with your hair later tonight. It is quite soft."

"T-thank you, my love," muttered a blushing Tettia.

Alibaba's glared harshened. How dare Sinbad touch Tettia's hair, play with Tettia's hair before he could. Also, how could Tettia blush so easily around that king? The blond felt hurt and looked at Sinbad with slight distaste, but not full-blown hatred. How could the blond hate a man who was helping his country?

"… That was an inevitable move. At the time, I couldn't let you defeat the _Fog Troupe_ ," began Sabhmad.

Tora huffed out a question, "So… you're partners with the damn _Fog Troupe_?"

"It's… it's not like that. I… I don't have any affiliations with the _Fog Troupe_ , nor have I met any of it's members. Even so, I still leaked that information to save them because… Alibaba was there. If Alibaba was with the _Fog Troupe_ , they could probably do something for the country… because since the beginning, Alibaba has always been someone who could do things that I never could do."

"Deputy king," said Barkak.

Sabhmad said, "I had wanted Alibaba… to stop Ahbmad…"

Sinbad looked at Sabhmad, still ruffling/playing with his wife's hair. "Stop? Ahbmad…? Although it's true that the country is in shambles and it can be also said that it's Ahbmad's fault as the king…" he began.

Sighing out happily as her hair with being played with, Tettia said, "However, is it that bad that you must rely on the help of a thieves' guild?"

Alibaba's glare had not lessened by any means, he was still glaring harshly at the purple-haired king as he played with Tettia's apparently soft hair. Hell, just Sinbad being near Tettia was irking the blond's nerves.

"Just what the fuck do you fear about Ahbmad!?" questioned Tora.

"Fear…? Yes… yes… I'm afraid of Ahbmad… but what should be feared are the things he does… no… that isn't right… whatever it is, something scary is going to happen to this country… just why did it lead to this… not understanding this point should be what scares people the most…!" Sabhmad seemed to be breaking down as he thought of the terrible things his brother's done.

"Sabhmad…" asked Tora, Tettia and Sinbad as they looked at the deputy king.

Barkak placed a hand on the deputy king's, beginning to explain in place of Sabhmad, "Allow me to explain from here. This country started changing when the previous king fell ill. That mysterious person who came to out palace claimed that he was an economic expert. And he said that he had travelled to many countries and had managed their finances. At that time, when our country was in a desperate situations because trade had stopped between our country and Partevia, we accepted him — someone with experience in managing the finances of many countries — to solve this problem. And then… during commercial trade with the Kou Empire's neighboring countries, they had indeed displayed an incredible power. Paper notes could transform into many high-valued gold products, working told, daily necessities and more. We were all awed by their power. And thus, we decided to use these paper notes called _Juan_ in our country as well."

"Sounds like quite the bad decision on your part," said Tettia, still having her hair played with by Sinbad.

Tora snickered, "I have to agreed with my queen on this. _Terrible_ decision on Balbadd's part. You never buy into shit from another country; well, a country like the Kou Empire, because all they want is to expand their empire."

Barkak nodded at the two women, "When our country imports various good, we would pay using _Juan_. We also received _Juan_ when we export our goods. We were lent an unlimited supply of _Juan_ by the _bankers_. However, it came with a small amount of interest. And hence, Balbadd's solely depended on _Juan_."

Sinbad shook his head, looking intently at the two men before him. "… such stupidity. To depend on another country which decides the value of these paper notes in your own country's economy…" he said, looking quite disappointed.

Looking up at her husband's face, Tettia said, "Don't look so disappointed, Sin. Disappointment doesn't suit you very well. But, me, you and Tora are rightfully able to be disappointed in this country. How they blindly became _entirely_ dependent on an other country because their king is an greedy bastard."

"You are right. The value of each notes changes constantly and this troubled our people. Items that only needed one _Juan_ yesterday would require two _Juan_ today. In order words, the value was halved. Every changes resulted in great losses for our country," said Barkak.

Sinbad spoke, "That is what scares many peoples. In the end, _paper notes_ are just ordinary papers. They don't hold much value in the first place…"

"The value of the _paper notes_ is determined by the country which distributes them," said Tettia, nuzzling her husband's arm.

Ja'far picked up, "That is why even though our country has a contract of using gold to exchange goods, we barely use it in our country. The central bank distributes the money is also prohibited from adding interest as well."

"Nice work, Jaffy!" said Tettia with a smile.

"Indeed. We didn't know when the debt we had accumulated to such a large sum. Following that, it also became impossible to pay that small amount of interest that came with the debt. Coincidentally, the Fog Troupe began their activities at that time, which increased our army expenses as well. Because of the huge debt, our country had to keep borrowing. However, Markkio was not willing to lend to us for free anymore. As collateral, our various assest and authorities were frozen. Our authority on the seas, regulation rights, land legislation right… recently, even our trade authority…"

"But the royalty and nobles weren't the least bit effected, were they? Those bastards sat in their high chairs and continue to stuff their fat, lazy, greedy pockets and mouths, aye?" asked Tettia as she glared at the sky, looking towards the palace.

"YEP! Basically!" exclaimed Tora.

"Well that sucks, doesn't it, my love?" she asked Sinbad.

Sinbad nodded. "It is a very unsavory situation, Tet," he said. Alibaba quickly went from having a shocked expression to glaring at the purple-haired king.


	14. The Problems Keep Coming

**Chapter Fourteen: The Problems Keep Coming**

* * *

Sahbmad looked terrified as he recalled something Ahbmad had done and he said in a shaky voice, "Ahbmad decided to transform Balbadd into a slave-exporting country!"

Tettia and Tora looked at Sahbmad with disgust and horror (for the people of Balbadd) in their widened eyes. "Transform Balbadd into a slave-exporting country!?" they yelled in absolute shock in unison. "The fuck is that fat pig thinking?!" yelled Tora, clenching her fists tightly.

The look in Sinbad's deep golden gaze held an almost crushing amount of disgust and disbelief. His voice was stern and almost judging as he spoke, "So, in other words, Ahbmad, he has betrayed the citizens?"

Sahbmad weakly nodded at what Sinbad had said. "Yes, that's right… Big brother said it himself… _'The citizens do not matter to us at all, right? As long as I, the king, am here, the country is here. Also, humans can reproduce as many children as they want when there is a need to. If it's like that, we can borrow Juan forever!'_ No one… rejected that idea…" he spoke, almost quietly.

"That's terrible! We must take action against that fucking pig!" exclaimed Tora, punching the air angrily.

Sahbmad nodded as he continued, "After that, the Kou Empire has decided to take the citizens of Balbadd and sell them off as slaves to other countries…"

The oldest Nando said something of little importance. Being unheard, Sinbad questioned the deputy king, "Sahbmad, just what in the world is happening? Has Ahbmad rotted to that bad of an extent?"

Casting his gaze down at the ground, Sahbmad replied, "I don't understand either. But Ahbmad, as well as the other royalty and officials, have been spending money like it's nothing. Nothing else will be able to catch their eyes. The royalty and officials, to secure their own lifestyles, follow Ahbmad without question…"

The half-Fanalis's jaw dropped at the utter stupidity of the so-called king of Balbadd, and she squeezed herself against Sinbad's arm even tighter. She felt terrible that these great people were forced to accept that greedy bastard as their king. After this revelation, Tettia's hatred for Alibaba's half-brother grew exponentially; the urge to kill the pig was almost too great. "That… that's _despicable_. How can that greedy asshole even call himself a king after that?! That's not what being king is about! It's not about how much money you can keep in your pocket in order to keep yourself and those corrupt nobles around you happy! Being king, or queen, is about keeping your _citizens_ happy! As a royal, you have a responsibility to keep your citizens feed and healthy, not to ensure you yourself get fat off of food and wine," hissed Tettia, glaring at the sky.

Tora clapped slowly in agreement as she said, "Well put, Tet. Very well put."

Alibaba and Tettia looked both at Morgiana, who had a serious look in her crimson eyes. She walked towards the deputy king, saying in an almost stern voice, "Deputy king! Are you asking for _us_ to stop them? Is that the reason why you're here?"

"Yes… that's right," replied Sahbmad.

Morgiana whipped her head around to look at Alibaba, and she went to reach for Alibaba. Before the purebred Fanalis could touch the blond, Tettia had jumped in front of Morgiana and placed her hands on the blond's shoulders. "Let's do this, Ali! Let's stop that fucking ridiculous plan," exclaimed Tettia, her crimson eyes holding a serious and determined gleam.

Alibaba's golden eyes were widened, not only by the fact that Tettia had said that, but by the fact that she had detached herself from Sinbad's arm and jumped in front of Morgiana in a few split seconds. It seemed that even though Tettia was not jealous of Morgiana, she did not want the purebred to touch the blond. Perhaps it infuriated the half-Fanalis that Morgiana acted all buddy-buddy with Alibaba despite having tried to kill them (Alibaba, Aladdin and herself) during their dungeon diving experience? Or maybe it was the way the purebred acted like Tettia had nothing to do with her being freed from being a slave, and gave the credit solely to the blond?

The Nando brothers said something and that directed Morgiana's anger towards them. They questioned if she remembered them, to which she promptly replied, "I _do_ remember." She turned her glaring crimson gaze from the back of Tettia's head (as Morgiana was angry that Tettia had stolen her thunder) to the brothers. "At that time, you were planning on selling slaves, too, weren't you?" she angrily questioned, stomping towards the brothers. "Why are _you_ with the _Fog Troupe_!"

Tora rolled her eyes, this young purebred Fanalis sure did let her anger control her actions quite a bit. "Wait a damn second, Morgiana," commanded the purplenette. The purebred Fanalis looked over her shoulder, glaring harshly at the purplenette. The look in those crimson eyes set Tora off, "Oh, look here, missy! You ain't got shit on me, got it? Wanna fight me, then come on! I'll beat the shit out of you in no time flat. Come at me!"

Sinbad raised his hand. "Tora. Calm down. We don't need to start a fight here. Now, Morgiana — although I don't know what conflict you have with those three — they are currently members of the Fog Troupe, so you will not be allowed to deal with your own problems with them now, but at a later date. We should allow Sahbmad to continue first," he said in a commanding tone.

Tora gripped Sinbad's shoulder in a tight hold, her face held a dangerous expression. "Look, King Moron, I don't care if your _wife_ is here or not… stop me again and I will beat you in front of Tet," she threatened.

Sinbad really had a knack for angering Tora lately. Ja'far sighed heavily, "Please don't kill Lord Sin, Tora. He still is our king."

Reluctantly, Tora let go of Sinbad's shoulder, hissing, "You're a real lucky man, King Moron… I'm gonna go punch a wall…" Then she walked off for a brief moment to punch a hole in yet another wall. Once she had done that, the purplenette returned, breathing out a relieved sigh. "Okay, I'm back," she said in a calmer tone. "Please, continue, Sahbmad," urged Tora.

"Okay…" said Sahbmad as he continued.

"CONTRACT SIGNING CEREMONY!?" exclaimed Tettia, who was standing next to Alibaba instead of her _husband_.

"Yes, that's right. It's actually for the engagement between Ahbmad and one of the Kou Empire's princesses. In… in five days, they will be holding the wedding ceremony. At the same time, they will be going through the contract signing ceremony with the citizens as the collateral… but if it's me, I can't stop them. That is why I'm here today… I'm begging you, Alibaba! Please, with your power, stop Ahbmad!" exclaimed the blond's half-brother, grabbing the blond's shoulders. "If it's me, I won't be able to do anything!"

Alibaba looked over at Tettia, an unknowing gleam in his golden gaze. What was he to do? Agree to this or disagree? Not knowing what to do, Tettia looked back at her _husband_. Gazing into Tettia's unknowing crimson gaze, Sinbad sighed and spoke, "…I have understood everything you have said, Sahbmad. Just leave it to me. I will contact my allied countries and we will come together to oppose the Balbadd government. Although I'm not certain that we would be able to make it in five days for the ceremony, I will absolutely stop this idiotic plan that will export the citizens as slaves!"

The purple-haired king's _wife_ smiled widely. "Aye," she agreed.

Sahbmad hummed to himself in thought. "But…" he muttered, looking over at Alibaba.

That was when Barkak spoke, "Deputy king, it's about time we return." Sabhmad nodded. Barkak looked at Alibaba and spoke once again, "Young master, we're counting on you!" With that, they left.

Alibaba stood there, not able to accept that. After causing quite the commotion for the Fog Troupe, Sahbmad returned to the palace. After that, the long night finally ended and brought in daybreak.

Alibaba and Tettia sat in Aladdin's room, the blond gripping his knees tightly as he looked at the sleeping bluenette. "Hey Aladdin…" the blond began, "You still haven't woken up. After you collapsed, Sahbmad came. He said—" he was interrupted.

"He said that he wanted Alibaba to save this country, can you believe it?! Our little Ali has been picked to save this country," said Tettia, placing a hand on the blond's right shoulder, smiling at him.

A small smile flashed across Alibaba's features, before it transformed into a half-smile full of sadness and self-doubt. "Yeah. I can't even believe it myself. Although it's true that this country is facing a _huge_ problem and that _someone_ must do something about it… is that _really_ something for me to do?" questioned the blond.

"Of course it is, Ali," Tettia spoke, trying to comfort the blond.

"I have worked hard before, haven't I…? Going to the Fog Troupe and becoming their leader so as to change this country. But… no matter what I do, nothing comes out right. Even though you and Tet expected something great from me, that isn't right, you two picked the wrong person. In this world, there are real heroes. That's right, for example… people like Sinbad."

Tettia smiled and said, "That type of person is simply _amazing_. B-but, that doesn't mean you aren't that type either, Alibaba!"

"I'm not that type, Tet. He has great spirit, great strength and great prestige. People like _me_ wouldn't even be able to compare to him. Bringing everyone in the Fog Troupe together in an instant. Really, I can't compare to him at all…"

Being saddened by his words, Tettia laid her head on his shoulder, tangling her fingers with his. "That isn't true, Ali. You can't compare yourself to a man who has had **_much_** _more_ experience at being a leader than you. It's an unfair comparison. I believe you have the makings of a wonderful leader within you… you just have to hone that skill. Though leadership does come easy for you, you and I are only children compared to those like Sin, Jaffy, Massy and even Tora. Though, I think Tora is our age, she's… probably been through a lot with Sin and them. Therefore, don't expect so much from yourself yet, Alibaba. Give it some time before you start comparing yourself to the likes of Sin and his companions," she spoke gently and with a genuine feeling of love and comfort. Tettia truly hated when Alibaba compared his leadership skills to that of the king of Sindria; it truly was an unfair comparison.

Alibaba looked at Tettia and squeezed her hand, leaning his head on hers. "Thanks for that… I doubt you're words will fully change my mind but, that _really_ means a lot to me," he thanked the half-Fanalis.

"You're welcome, Ali. I can't keep letting you put yourself down like this. You can't hold yourself up to those high standards that Sin is held to… it's just not possible for you to be suddenly as good at being a leader as Sin is. Don't do that to yourself, build yourself up to those standards… don't assume that you'll be amazing in an instant," she said, lifting her head up. Alibaba lifted his head and then Tettia kissed his cheek.

He blushed. "I'll try not to, Tet…" he muttered.

She smiled at the blond. "That's all you can do. After all, you'll have me here to punch you if you continue to put yourself down," she spoke with a huge grin.

"King Moron, what the fuck are you planning on doing from now on?" asked Tora, from her snake-form on Masrur's shoulder.

Ja'far looked at Sinbad and said, "To think that the Kou Empire is at the center of all this. Even if we managed to discuss this with our allies, it may be of no use at all."

"Yes, I know that. Even if we found a way, it is still impossible to solve this problem entirely," replied Sinbad.

Tora nodded and said, "That issssssss becaussssse the country'sssss sssssyssssstem hassss already been broken quite badly."

Closing his eyes, Sinbad said, "Yes. That is why, to rebuild this country into an utterly different form, we need to rely on those people that serve this country wholeheartedly."

The white-haired advisor looked sternly at Sinbad as he said/questioned, "Are you planning on destroying the current king's rule? For example, by pushing Alibaba as a candidate for the king's position."

"Alibaba, huh… right now, we can't expect much from him. I have considered him before, but his strength as well as his confidence aren't enough," spoke Sinbad, bringing a cup of wine to his lips. "Aladdin… why did Aladdin choose him in the first place…?"

Tora and Ja'far shook their heads. "Hey Sin, it's early in the morning and you're already drinking so much," said Ja'far.

Taking a large gulp of wine, Sinbad retorted, "I can't help it… ever since arriving in this country, I haven't gotten a single moment of rest…" As soon as the king finished his utterance, the door was kicked open violently. The four whipped their heads back and saw an angry Tettia in the doorway. "Did something happen, Tet?" asked the king.

"Don't talk about Ali that way. I just got done telling him that he can't expect himself to have half of the confidence, strength and leadership skills as all of you have because of how inexperienced he is. However, just because he is inexperienced, that doesn't mean that you get to just denounce his abilities to be king! If the need and situation calls for him to do what's considered impossible for him, I know he's up to the task," said an irritated Tettia.

Sinbad looked at his _wife_ with his mouth agape. "Tet, I know how much he means to you and Aladdin, but we can talk about it later. The night was rough on you because of what happened to Aladdin, maybe you should rest a bit."

"Yeah! You really should go get some damn rest, Tet!" exclaimed Tora, jumping off of Masrur's shoulder and transforming back into her human form.

Tettia shook her head, "No! What makes you think that he has no confidence?! Is it just because he does not know how to deal with things suddenly being thrusted upon him or something? Because, honestly, I would be the same way. ALSO! I want to know how you know Judar and those people who were with him, Sin."

Sinbad stood up and walked over to Tettia. "I promise to explain everything in full detail later, Tet," he said.

That was when Morgiana walked up, having heard what the king said about Alibaba as well. "Sinbad, about Alibaba… he does look like he doesn't have any confidence, but he saved me when I was a slave. It wasn't just anyone. It was him. Hence, this is how I feel… the one to is able to save this country is him," exclaimed the purebred Fanalis, her eyes twinkling as she remembered what the blond had done for her.

Morgiana and Tettia left after that. Once the door was closed, the king sat down, rubbing the back of his head. "…Ja'far, about what we were talking about, the thing about Alibaba… it seems that it is still too early to determine whether he's a good candidate of not," said the purple-haired king.

"That is because you're fucking drunk again, King Moron," retorted Tora. "Now the question is: are you gonna get more stuff stolen?" Ja'far shook his head at the purplenette's statement, pinching the bridge of his nose. That had Tora laughing even more than she already was.

In the room where Sinbad had been drinking a day earlier, Tettia and Alibaba now sat opposite of Ja'far and Sinbad; Morgiana, Masrur and Tora standing close by. "The Kou Empire. It's a country that has been displaying quite a bit of power recently. A militaristic country that reigns over the center plains. Although it was just a small country in the east not too long ago, it only took them a small amount of time to take control of the entire central plains. Although we can't just turn a blind eye to such ruthlessness, I now know one of the reasons for the ruthlessness like we saw yesterday," spoke Sinbad.

Tettia leaned forward on the table, supporting her head with her hands as she asked, "What is it, my love?"

Sinbad chuckled at her term of affection. "The Kou Empire's Magi — Judar…"

"Judar…" muttered Alibaba, Tettia and Morgiana. "Umm… I'm sorry, but may I ask what actually is a Magi?" asked Morgiana. "I want to know that too…" said Alibaba.

"Another name for Magi is the _Magician that Shapes the World_. By using Magoi, they are able to control the world's Rukhs. But, the power of a Magi that we are most familiar with is the power to summon dungeons and lead people in there. There are many _powers_ that can be found in dungeons. Magic incantations, magical items, as well as metal vessels. The Magi will bestow these items to the people he lead. Those who have been given the power by the dungeons, as well as the people around them, will rise to fame and glory with the aid of the Magi," explained the purple-haired king.

Alibaba asked, "So, it is the same for you, too, Sinbad?"

Smiling, Sinbad replied, "No, I'm different. I used my own strength to conquer the dungeons summoned by Judar and I have clashed with that troublesome guy a couple of times. In any case, even with the exceptions such as myself, the reason why the Kou Empire has risen to such glory and power is no doubt because of their Magi. Judar said it before that he's using his strength as a Magi to help the Kou Empire. Judar has sent various people into dungeons that he summoned… making the Kou Empire a rarely seen large and powerful Empire in this era. Also, they seem to have no intentions on stopping their powerful invasion."

"You're saying…" Alibaba, Tettia and Morgiana said in unison.

"That's right. The country they are eyeing right now is here, the kingdom of Balbadd. Actually since a long time ago, the Kou Empire has always been using their military influence to suppress Balbadd's economy. After that, they waited for the kingdom's power to diminish so as to ensure Balbadd uses Juan for their finances. What they can use isn't only their military's strength… but also the guy that has been completely manipulated by them… is Ahbmad Saluja. That guy has been deceived by the flowery lies of the Kou Empire and has been pushing the country into its poor state. Losing its land, losing its rights… and now he is even planning to sell the citizens as slaves; this is what we currently have to think about as we devise a plan to love this quickly approaching major problem," further explained Sinbad.

Tettia leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "…Then our enemies are the Kou Empire and Ahbmad Saluja, aye?" questioned the semi-wavy haired red-head.

Sinbad smiled briefly at her wording, then replied, "You… _can_ put it like that, yes."

Alibaba got up and made his way to the door, Tettia still sat unmoving from her seat at the table, Morgiana stood near Alibaba at the door and bowed to the king as she spoke, "I understand, thank you _very_ much."

"I'm taking my leave," the blond spoke in a flat tone.

Sinbad held up a hand as he called out to the young blond, "Wait, Alibaba. I still have something to talk to you about. I would say let's talk about this, just the two of us, but I know that Tet will do what she want: which will mean staying."

Tettia snickered from behind her hand, then said cheerfully, "You got that right, my handsome husband!"

The young prince looked at Tettia and smiled as he sat back down. Sinbad signaled for his trio to exit the room, which they did (Tora had not griped as she left, which was unusual for her). Soon it was just the three in the room, still sitting at the table: the purple-haired king, the red-headed who self-proclaimed herself the king's _wife_ , and the blond prince. This time, however, the red-head was sitting beside Sinbad, her head sleepily leaned against his shoulder and upper-arm. Smiling at the young blond, who was staring at the him in an almost glare, Sinbad said, "Talking to you alone like this — for the most part — is our first time, isn't it? Your father had always been telling me about you. He said he still had another son; saying that you were outstanding and that he was proud of you. And now, you even stand before me as a dungeon capturer. This must be another example of the Rukhs' guidance."

"You think us meeting is an example of the Rukhs' guidance, Sin?" asked Tettia as she looked up at him.

Ruffling her hair, Sinbad quickly added, "But of course, my lovely Tettia."

The red-head smiled happily, whispering a quiet, "Yay."

Having heard that, Alibaba's gaze turned quickly from an almost glare to a distant and far-off look in his honey gaze. "Please stop. I'm not like that," he said in the same flat tone from a few brief moments ago.

Snapping her crimson gaze towards Alibaba, Tettia's eyebrows furrowed in an almost distressed manner. "Ali… you okay? I don't much like that look in your eyes," she said, clearly worried about him.

Sinbad shared his _wife_ 's worried look as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm just… someone that used both Aladdin's and Tet's strength to conquer the dungeon… I didn't do anything at all. Also, the Djinn's powers did not even harm you or your friends, Sinbad! If it's about how we're similar, please stop talking about it," spoke Alibaba, his voiced grew slightly angry, but it was quelled quickly.

Tettia gazed at the young blond with such a sad look in her eyes. He was still putting himself down, she thought that she had gotten through that thick skull of his awhile ago. "Ali…" she trailed off, reaching her hand over the table, touching one of the blond's hands. Alibaba smiled sadly at the table, enjoying her slight comforting gesture.

"Alibaba," started Sinbad, giving the blond an understanding look, "I understand that you have lost your confidence because your attempt at negotiating with Ahbmad failed, but if you continue to look down, you will cause nothing but trouble for others. Look at the effect your constant disheartenment is having on Tet; she is usually charming and lively, yet here she is, having the most dismal quality in her crimson gaze."

Alibaba tore his eyes from the table, a questioning look swirled in his eyes, and it was then that his eyes met Tettia's. Sinbad was beyond being correct; crimson eyes that usually sparkled with excitement and life were then lackluster. A heart-wrenching and prominent anguish swirling in Tettia's eyes. The blond was taken back a bit, he had not expected his very own sorrowfulness to have such a profound impact on another individual. Her piercing crimson gaze silently pleaded with Alibaba to be cheerful again, to stop putting himself down, to end his incessant comparing himself to Sinbad.

After a few moments of silence between the three, as the blond and red-head shared both a heartwarming and heartbreaking moment, Sinbad broke said silence when he continued, "Now do you see how much of an impact something as small as your mood can effect those around you? Moving on, though, this country needs to be reborn, Alibaba. A rebirth like this must be done by changing Ahbmad's current government into an entirely different state. Do you understand what I'm getting at? Alibaba, you have to become Balbadd's king."

The clashing honey and crimson gazes were torn from the other at Sinbad's proclamation. Alibaba's eyes widened as he looked unbelievingly at Sindria's king, quickly shuffling to his feet. Tettia's lackluster gaze sparked to life as she turned her eyes towards her _husband_.

"You don't have to worry. Even if you don't have confidence right now, I will give my all to support you from the back. I'm sure my wife agrees with me and will give her all to back you, as well. The strength and confidence that you need — you just have to accumulate them with time. I will also teach you how to use your Djinn," said Sinbad as he stood up.

"That's what I told him, Sin! He just needs time! But, this goofball expects himself to have all of that at the drop of a coin," exclaimed Tettia, standing up as well.

Alibaba could not deal with all of that. "Please stop! The thing about making _me_ king… something like that is impossible," exclaimed a sweat-dropping Alibaba.

Sinbad now was curious. "But aren't you the leader of this strong and active Fog Troupe? Didn't you become the leader because you wanted to be the one to lead this country someday?"

"I don't believe that's why he did it, Sin," said Tettia, looking up at Sinbad and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Alibaba nodded slightly in agreement. "Tet's right. It's not like that… the reason why I'm the leader is because I happen to have royal blood. It's because Cassim thought that, if I become the leader, it would not make the Fog Troupe look like an army of thieves…" he trailed off, looking away from the duo before him.

Looking sternly at Alibaba, Sinbad began, "Alibaba, don't you think that everyone is bestowed with various duties the moment they are born? It's a coincidence that you happen to have royal blood. The world's kings also thought that is was a coincidence for them to be given birth into royalty and to live to become a king. I, for instance, didn't actually think of becoming king either; I went down that path because I felt that it was the duty that was bestowed upon me. Whoever it is will live because of the duty given to them. There are no coincidences at all."

Remaining quiet, Alibaba stared at the floor. Having enough of the blond's childish ignoring of the truth Sinbad was saying, Tettia spoke, her voice crisp and blatant, "Yesterday, after what happened in Laddin's room, I came to see Sin. I told him that he shouldn't dismiss you as being Ahbmad's replacement because of your lack of confidence caused by you comparing yourself to him all the time. Morgiana came by, too, and she proclaimed that the one to save this country is gonna be you. I wholeheartedly believe her. It's not just us that hope and believe this to be true! Sahbmad. The Fog Troupe. Hell, even the citizens. _Everyone_ is hoping that you will save them."

"Yes, exactly. Can't you see that it's because everyone felt it, Alibaba? What your duty is?" questioned Sinbad. Alibaba stood there, unable to absorb what the two were saying. Seeing that the blond needed time to soak in what he had said, Sinbad sighed with a slight smile. "Anyways, I'm done. You two can go, if you want to," he said. Without hesitation, Alibaba turned on his heels and left the room. Surprisingly, Tettia had not followed after him like she usually would have. Sighing heavily, Tettia leaned against the taller man who she had self-proclaimed as her _husband_. With an eyebrow raised in unmeasurable curiosity, Sinbad asked, "You aren't going to follow him, Tet?"

Tilting her head back, to cast her gaze up at his face, Tettia smiled almost dismally. "Nah… I think I wanna spend some _quality_ time with my husband. Can I have a jug of wine? I need to lose up a bit," she said with a smirk.

"Are you sure you can handle a jug of wine?" asked an amused Sinbad.

Giggling in an low, borderline sultry way, the red-head replied, "I think the question should be: can _you_ handle your _wife_ being drunk? I can't promise I won't be the least bit _innocent_ — as I get pretty _bold_ when I'm drunk; however, I doubt any of the women you've been with have ever _truly_ been innocent around you, aye? _Lady Killer of the Seven Seas_?"

Just the way Tettia said that had Sinbad laughing nervously. "I can't quite remember…" he muttered.

"Of course you can't." Tettia laughed, "Just get me a drink, my love."

Sinbad nodded and asked Ja'far to bring them some alcohol. The white-haired advisor entered the room with a jug of wine and two cups, Masrur and his purplenette wife following after. Setting down the jug and the cups, Ja'far looked at the two.

Quickly snatching the jug, uncorking it and taking a large swig of wine, Tettia said, "Thank you, Jaffy!"

Casting his obsidian gaze at the red-head, the white-haired man spoke, "Aren't you going to share with Sin, Tettia?"

"Jaffy… please call me _Tet_. Also, the fuck I am! That idiot blond has been dragging my mood down with his and basically shitting on my attempts to boost his confidence, so I need this. Warning, if I get umm… _suggestive_ , more than I already am, I might try to _do_ _something_ with Sin. Just… someone stop me if I try to go _too_ far," she laughed.

Tora exclaimed, "Stop you and King Moron from fucking! Got it!"

"I knew you had my back, Tora," laughed Tettia, taking another swig of wine.

Tettia made quick work of about two-and-a-half jugs of wine, becoming heavily drunk. Thankfully, she had not done anything too bad with Sinbad. All she had done was cuddle up next to him as they sat, asking for him to play with her hair, which he did. "Hey~~ Sin~~" she slurred happily.

"Yes? What is it, Tet?"

Tettia nuzzled her face into his arm, slurring, "When can we consummate the marriage~~?"

The red-head's drunken statement had Tora rolling on the floor, dying of laughter. Ja'far did not know whether to be slightly entertained or fully against what the half-Fanalis was saying. Masrur looked down at his wife, rolling around laughing on the floor. Sinbad, possibly for the first time in his life, did not know what to say. "Uhh…" he muttered.

"No wait~! Where's Ali~~? I want him to be the first~" slurred Tettia.

"Wait?! You're still a maiden!?" exclaimed Tora, popping her head up from the other side of the table.

Tettia nodded, slurred, "Ayeeee~!"

Tora looked confused. "Damn it, with how close you and Babwa are, I was sure you two had… _ya know_ … by now," she said, shaking her head.

"Noooope~" laughed Tettia drunkenly.

"Okay, I think you need to sleep off the alcohol, Tet," said Sinbad, smiling down at Tettia.

Tettia looked up at Sinbad, not truly wanting to be sent away, but she understood despite being heavily drunk. "If you think it's best~! Then~~ okay," she spoke with a loving smile.

"I do." Sinbad kissed the half-Fanalis's forehead before he looked at Tora, saying, "Tora, take her back to her room."

Tora nodded, grabbing the red-head by her shoulders. "Got'cha, Sin. C'mon Tet, let's get you to fucking sleep," she said.

"Yeah~" slurred Tettia as she was lead by to her room by the purplenette. "Thanks, Tora~!"

Smiling at the drunken half-Fanalis, Tora replied, "You're welcome, you damn drunk." They reached Alibaba and Tettia's shared room and the purplenette lead Tettia to her bed. Laying her on the bed, Tora quickly and quietly left the room. As soon as Tettia's head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

Tettia had slept through the large majority of the day, when she woke up, the sun was setting. "What the fuck ha— oooooohhhh… never mind, I remember clearly. I'm glad I never have headaches after I sober up," she said to herself as she drudged herself out of bed. Opening the door, the red-head made her way outside, where there was a gathering. "Hey, Sin! What's going on?" Tettia asked as she walked over to the purple-haired king.

Smiling at the red-head, Sinbad replied, "Oh you know, just gathering the troops to rally them."

"Ah, yes. Because they need all the rallying you can offer, honey," Tettia said, coming to stand beside him.

Once Sinbad's _wife_ stood beside him, Ja'far asked from behind his sleeve, "Sin, Tet. How's the progress of making Alibaba the king of this country?"

"Dunno! Ali doesn't seem to want to believe in himself that he can do it. Hopefully he does after this! In the past two fucking days I have tried to give that boy a pep-talk. I gave him one yesterday, when we were in Laddin's room… we had a touching moment. Then, I just gave him one saying how many people believe in him: in what he's doing, believing that he is the one that will save this country a while ago," replied Tettia with a huff.

Sinbad looked over at Ja'far and sighed, "Ah… he has already lost his confidence. He didn't give us the reply that we wished to hear."

Tettia was about to speak with Alibaba exclaimed, "Sinbad! Please teach me how to use a Djinn! I need power, the power needed to protect this country!"

"Now that's what I'm talking about, Ali!" exclaimed Tettia, running over to and hugging the blond.

Sinbad promptly agreed to teach Alibaba how to properly use his Djinn, Amon.

The next day, Tettia watched intensely — from the side — as Sinbad instructed Alibaba on how to use his Djinn properly. It was intriguing to watch Alibaba push himself as he tried to master his Djinn. She noted how determined the blond seemed.

When Alibaba's Magoi finally had enough, he fell. "Your Magoi has finally run out. You should have probably realized this. When the Magoi that you have been storing up in your Djinn's metal vessel runs out, you can't unleash anymore of its power. So you must take note of your Magoi capacity," explained Sinbad.

"Now, that, I didn't know. Thanks for also teaching me on the side, Sinny my love~!" exclaimed Tettia, who was sitting on the ground not too far away.

Sinbad looked down at Tettia and smiled lovingly, just like his _wife_ , he was also really getting into the prank (Tettia let him in on the ploy to make Alibaba jealous). What made it better was that Tettia was not unattractive by any means, and was somewhat more mature than most people her age. In fact, dare-say the king was slowly becoming more and more attracted to her each and every day. "You're welcome, Tet."

The glare that Alibaba had directed towards Sinbad a few days earlier was back. The blond saw that look in Sinbad's eyes, even if he did look briefly down at Tettia. Biting back a spiteful tone, he asked, "Yes… what must I do to restore my Magoi again?"

"Once you have recovered your own physical strength, place your metal vessel on you for a few hours and then it will be fully restored again," the king instructed.

Alibaba looked at Sinbad and asked, "What happens if your Magoi runs out during a battle…!?"

"I can only assume that'd be a dangerous situation, right, Sinny?"

Sinbad looked at Tettia, then ruffled her hair. "That's correct, Tet. It _will_ be a dangerous situation. However, it's not like there aren't any other methods to restore your Magoi. Another method is…"

"Also… I don't get what you mean by compressing the Djinn's power within my own body," Alibaba interrupted.

Sinbad crossed his arms and replied, "Ah. You have seen Aladdin's Djinn, right? He's very strong. By supplying a large amount of Magoi into the metal vessel, it will allow the Djinns to materialize its body. For people like us, who have smaller Magoi capacities, we are unable to materialize Djinns. However, by possessing yourself with your Djinn's powers and assimilating with those powers, you will be able to obtain the same power as the materialized Djinn. And that is what you call enveloping yourself with the Djinn's powers… or simply put, _Djinn Equip_! After succeeding in Djinn Equip, you will possess the same outward appearance as your Djinn. That princess's Djinn is probably something close to that of a fish. What does your Djinn look like?"

Tettia laughed. "All right, one, we don't mention that whore of a princess. And two, Ali's Djinn looks like an old man, no offense Amon, you're amazing!"

Alibaba laughed at Tettia's laughter. "Then, what technique was that when you dispelled my flames with a slight touch the other day?" asked the blond prince.

The king smiled as he explained, "Ah, that. I just simply controlled the Magoi within my body to counteract your Magoi. However, this _Magoi Control_ technique that I mastered is from training with a special tribe in the mountains for about a year. You can't learn that in a day or two."

Tettia jumped off of the ground and attacked her husband with a hug. The hug caught Sinbad off guard, so the two fell to the ground. "You're _sooooo_ amazing, Sinny! Can you teach me that someday~? Please," gushed Tettia, nuzzling her face into Sinbad's chest.

Patting her head, Sinbad replied, "Of course. Someday, I will teach you that. Now, up we go." Then he stood up, bringing Tettia with him. The half-Fanalis was latched on to Sinbad's torso, similar to a koala (much like what Tora does with Masrur). Chuckling at her actions, the king said, "Could you unlatch yourself from me now?"

Looking up at him, Tettia smiled stupidly, shaking her head. "Nope~! You have to deal with me~!" Tettia exclaimed, nuzzling her face into his chest again.

"Tet, you can latch onto me later, but not right now. I'm trying to help Alibaba, don't you want that?" said Sinbad, trying to get Tettia to let him go.

Lifting her head from Sinbad's chest, she playfully stuck her tongue out at him. "I do want you to help him, _buuut_ ~ I'm a needy bitch and I want love~" she said.

Rolling his eyes at her words, he replied, "You know how much I love you already, Tet."

As the king and his queen went back and forth, the blond glared at them. That should have been him who Tettia was latched on to, not Sinbad. The longer he looked at the two, at Sinbad trying to get Tettia off of him, the more Alibaba got irritated. His grip on his knife tightened as he continued to glare at the two, mainly at Sinbad.

"Alright, look. If you get off of me for a little while longer, I will play with your hair for as long as you want tonight," suggested Sinbad.

Her crimson eyes sparkled as she looked into the dark golden eyes belonging to her husband. "R-really?!" she questioned.

Sinbad nodded, combing a hand through her hair. "Yes. You have my word, Tet," he said.

"O-okay," quickly stammered the half-Fanalis as she unlatched herself from his torso.

"Alright, your Magoi should be restored by now. I apologize for that. Now, by remembering what I just said, try activating your Djinn Equip," said the king.

Once again, Alibaba pushed down his growing jealous and acted as normal as possible when he said, "Okay."

"However, a full body Djinn Equip is probably impossible for you, Alibaba. That isn't something that you can master in a short amount of time… therefore, you can probably manage part of your Djinn Equip. In other words, only Djinn Weapon Equip," spoke Sinbad.

Alibaba looked at his weapon then asked, "Djinn Weapon Equip?"

"Yes. You have seen the princess's transformation right? From her metal vessel to her arms, the transformed into a huge sword. That is because the place which is nearest to the Djinn is the easiest to _equip_. Also, the huge sword has the appearance of the weapon that her Djinn has… now, try bringing out Amon's weapon too!"

Tettia cheered, punching the air. "You got this, Ali!" she exclaimed.

Alibaba smiled at the red-head and he said, gripping his knife, "Okay!"

Sinbad and his red-head _wife_ smiled as he pumped Magoi into his knife, trying to summon his Djinn Equip.

"Sin. How is Alibaba's Djinn training coming along? Also, good to see you, Tet. Can you tell me why you're sitting in Sin's lap? It looks incredibly inappropriate," said the white-haired man.

Tora pat Ja'far's back. "Don't fecking worry about it, Ja'far. They aren't doing anything. Tet just wants attention," said the purplenette.

Sinbad was combing his hands through Tettia's hair. "Ah, yes. His progress isn't bad. It's not possible for him to grasp the technique within a day, so I will still continue to train him tomorrow. Also, my _wife_ is sitting on my lap so I can play with her hair. I promised I'd do it for as long as she wanted today during my training of Alibaba," he said.

Tettia sighed happily as her hair was played with. Ja'far looked at them, rolled his eyes and smiled softly. "Okay, I suppose then it's not inappropriate. However, Sin, just what are you trying to make Alibaba do?"

"Jaffy~ isn't it obvious~? It's to make Ali this country's king," Tettia sighed out like she was on cloud nine.

Tora's pinkish-red eyes twinkled as she looked at her king and queen. "Awwww~ they're fucking sickeningly adorable. Ya know, if this wasn't a huge plot to make _him_ jealous, you two would _actually_ make a decent fucking married couple," she said.

"You think so?" asked a euphoric Tettia as she looked at the purplenette.

Tora laughed, "Fuck yeah I think so. Some how, this idiot," she pointed to Sinbad, "seems to be a bit happier as your _husband_."

Masrur broke his seemingly stoic facade and chuckled quietly. "Tora does have a point, Sinbad, you do seem happier," he agreed.

Laughing at the Fanalis's sudden break in character, Tora punched Masrur in the arm playfully. "There's my Massy! You finally break the character," she exclaimed happily.

"I apologize for laughing, but," said Masrur, slowly returning to his stoic demeanor.

Sinbad took a sip of his wine, eyeing the male Fanalis and his purplenette wife. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up while you can, _children_ ," he said, his other hand still playing with semi-wavy hair. "However, Ja'far, shaping him into this country's king isn't a simple task. Making Ahbmad step down and making Alibaba the next king requires more effort in the political areas. I will be discussing this matter with my allied countries."

"I see," replied Ja'far, "But, if it goes like that, then there isn't a need for Alibaba to become stronger, is there?"

"That isn't necessarily true," commented Tettia, still sounding like she was in heaven as her hair was still played with.

Ja'far smiled and said, "And, if I may say so, I do find myself agreeing with them. You have been a bit livelier since Tet claimed to be your wife, Sin. Opposed to it a first, I believe you warmed up to the idea."

Sinbad chuckled at his companions statements. "Maybe I have? Who knows. Anyways, Tet is right. That isn't necessarily true; having the added strength will boost his confidence. And there wouldn't be a need for him to worry of being assassinated after becoming king. Although I say it that way, I'm not planning on having him do all the work by himself. Starting tomorrow, I will also start to move. With Tettia, if she so desires," said Sinbad.

"So, what are you planning to do?" asked Tora and Ja'far.

Continuing to play with the red-head's hair, which seemed to keep her quite calm, Sinbad said, "I am going to have a talk with that Kou Empire princess because she is probably Ahbmad's fiancée. I feel that it would be better for me to talk to her about this country's situation instead of Ahbmad."

Ja'far sighed at the thought. "But, it's not going to be easy to convince her, right?"

"It's alright," said Sinbad, "I feel that she would listen to me."

Tora, Ja'far and Masrur looked at Sinbad as they replayed the first time the princess met Sinbad and his _queen_ in their heads. "You might be right," said Ja'far to himself, Tora and Masrur.

"As if Tet's gonna let that fucking happen, though," muttered Tora to themselves.

"What's wrong, Ja'far? Tora?" questioned the oblivious king.

"Lady Killer of the Seven Seas," muttered Masrur, which had Tora snickering.

"Eh? What are you talking about, Masrur?"

Tora shook her head. "You know she's not gonna let you go alone, right, King Moron?"

Tettia narrowed her eyes in distain at the mention of that cursed princess brat. "Tora's right, Sinny. I'm not letting you go alone. I bet she'd try and flirt hardcore with you and if she so much as makes the _slightest_ move on you, I'm _going_ to string her corpse up by her hair," hissed a now annoyed Tettia.

Sinbad looked down at the annoyed half-Fanalis and continued to play with her hair. "Don't worry, Tet. I won't let her flirt with me, why would I? When I have such a cute little wife?" he asked, smiling.

Tettia blushed embarrassedly. "I still don't like the idea of you going to talk with that _brat_ alone, Sinny," she muttered.

"Want me to create a little bug for you? I _am_ a magician, after all. I can create a little bug to you in your place on Sin's shoulder and if that brat gets to flirty with King Moron and he doesn't notice, the bug will scream at her. Of course, the voice would be yours yelling at her to back off. If the bug even _senses_ that she is thinking that she has a chance with Sinbad, it'll scream. It is one of my best fucking magic spells. However, it won't scream at the brat if Sin's working his magic on her, but it will shock him if he gets too carried away," offered Tora with a wicked grin.

"Oh dear… _that_ spell, really?" asked Sinbad.

Tora flipped a lock of her purple hair over her shoulder. "Yes. _That_ spell, Sinbad. I can't have you hurting my best friend because _you_ get too carried away in trying to get that bitch to see things _our_ way. Plus, if you were to hurt Tet, I'd have to hurt you back," she said in a dangerous tone.

Ja'far reluctantly nodded. "Tora, for once, as a point. You do get carried away sometimes, and now that you have a wife, you have to be reeled in somehow. Tettia's a very nice young half-Fanalis, I would be angry if you hurt her, too," agreed Ja'far.

Masrur nodded as well. "Agreed."

Sinbad was shocked. "Really? You guys don't trust that I won't flirt with that princess? Someone tell me why would I when Tettia is my _wife_? There is no reason I would _want_ to hurt her," he said.

Tora pinched the bridge of her nose before she stared blankly at the king. "Of course we don't trust you, Sinbad! You're a notorious flirt! And while we were fine with it before, until this _thing_ is over, and Tet and Blondie get together, you can't flirt with other women. Because you'd have five people wanting to beat the absolute shit outta you," she explained.

Ja'far, Masrur and Tettia nodded in agreement. The fifth person was Alibaba, but he was neither there in the room nor was he clued in on the whole jealousy ploy. But, if he caught Sinbad flirting with another girl, he would probably get really angry. As they talked, the five of them were unaware that Alibaba had done something relatively stupid. The blond had left the hideout and went to face Ahbmad at the palace.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I really enjoyed typing the scenes between Tettia and Sinbad… maybe a bit too much? Making Alibaba jealous is so much fun! Also, I apparently love to not only make AliTia couple-y moments, but I apparently make them kinda mushy.**


	15. These Dumbasses!

**Chapter Fifteen: These Dumbasses!**

* * *

Morgiana bounded into the room where Sinbad, Tettia, Ja'far, Masrur and Tora were lounging in. "Tetti—" she exclaimed then trailed off as she saw the older half-Fanalis in the purple-haired king's lap. "What are you doing?!" Morgiana exclaimed through gritted teeth.

Casting her gaze at the younger Fanalis, Tettia spoke, "I'm currently having my hair played with because Sinny promised me earlier. Anyways, you bounded in exclaiming my name, what's the matter, Morg?"

"Right!" Morgiana exclaimed and grabbing Tettia from Sinbad's lap, the two left the room.

The actions of the younger Fanalis caused everyone in the room to look at one another with a concerned, and confused, look. "What do you think they're talking about?" asked the king, who was still pretty shocked that his _wife_ just let herself be dragged off like that.

"I dunno, Sinbad, but it may have something to do with how close you two seem to be getting," Tora said with a smarmy smirk followed by a wink.

Sinbad crossed his arms. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Tet and I are feigning closeness to appear like a married couple," he corrected.

Tora put her hands on her hips as she stared at Sinbad with a skeptic look in her pinkish-red eyes. "Mhmm… _feigning._ ** _Really_** , Sinbad? We _all_ see how happy you are around Tet, there's no denying it. _Hehe_ , want me to fucking spell her to make a damned exact clone of her? That way you can have your precious little _fake_ _wife_ become your _actual wife_? That way Babwa and Tettia can get together, and you can be happy with Tet, too. Though obviously we'd have to rename the Tettia clone because… that'd be weird. But, you know, I'll do it in a flick of a wrist… for you, Sinbad," stated Tora as she laughed to herself.

Ja'far and Masrur looked at Tora with amazement. "You _can_ and _would_ actually do that for him, Tora," asked the white-haired man.

The purplenette nodded at the white-haired man. "Uh, yeah! You better fucking know I can! I don't particularly like using magic that elaborate very often because I would show up Yamraiha. And I don't wanna upstage Yam, as we all know she'd be super fucking pissy with me. That's why I like to deal with things physically," she said.

"I'm really impressed, Tora," said Masrur, "I thought you could only transform yourself into that snake form you love so much."

Tora shrugged before nuzzling against her husband. "Why thank you, Massy~! I'm fucking glad I can impress you still~!"

The purple-haired king mused for a few moments, before he said with a smirk, "I might have to take you up on that offer, Tora. So _kind_ of you, actually, which is totally unlike you. But, not right now… maybe later, should Tettia and I continue to get close."

An excited gleam flashed in Tora's pinkish-red eyes. "Well, hey, I can't _always_ be fucking mean to you, King Moron. Not when it comes to happiness… _everyone_ deserves some of that fucking amazingness. Also, it would mainly be for _my entertainment_ … not yours," she said.

"Course it would be. That's how _all_ the so-called _nice_ things you do for me work, right?" question Sinbad as he looked at Tora.

With a shrug, the purplenette replied, in a slightly mocking/teasing tone, "Better fucking believe it, _Sinny_."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sinbad sighed, "Just _once_ , I would like it if you did something nice for me _without_ it being for _your_ entertainment."

"Yeah, well, maybe one day when you fucking prove yourself to me, I'll do that more often," retorted Tora.

Sinbad threw his hands up into the air, exclaiming, "How have I _still_ not proven myself to you?! You've been with me for about as long as Masrur has!"

Tora crossed her arms in a huff, "You're just a horn-dog who can't control himself, especially when he's had too much to drink. Therefore, as a result, I don't trust you enough to do nice things for you with my impeccable magic skills yet. I trust you with being king and all, just not with your whatever-it-is-that-you-call-your- _love-life_! That's why I would do it for _my entertainment_! That way I can spell the clone away if I think you aren't to be trusted and will hurt the Tettia clone… ya know what, fuck it, I'mma just call her Tia." Ja'far sighed, but understood why Tora thought the way she did.

"Tettia, Alibaba went to the palace to confront Ahbmad… _alone_!" exclaimed the younger Fanalis, once they were far enough away from the king and his companion's room.

"HE DID WHAT?!" she yelled out in confusion. "GAH! Ali's gonna be the end of me," groaned Tettia. "I gotta go help that damned idiot," she said.

Morgiana looked at the older half-Fanalis. "Can I go with you?" she asked Tettia.

"Of course you can, Morg! It'd probably actually be better if you came," replied Tettia. "Ready to go now, though?"

Nodding, Morgiana replied, "Yes. I am! Whenever you are!"

"Well, then, let's go help Ali, shall we?" asked Tettia with a happy grin. The two Fanalis shared a look before they took off, jumping out of a nearby window.

In Ahbmad's throne room, there were three people bowing before the king. They were to be Ahbmad's personal bodyguards, and they had just proven themselves by killing all of the previously best fighters of the Balbadd Army. "Huhu… every one of them is rather outstanding… none of my army's best fighters are a match against them," spoke the greedy king. "Alright, approved. Dedicate your loyalty and work for me then! Speaking of which… what's the commotion outside about?"

"Your majesty! We have a big problem! There's an intruder in the palace! However, he's not really a trespasser," exclaimed some soldiers.

Ahbmad walked out onto the balcony to see what was up. "Just what the hell is happening…" he muttered. It was then that he caught sight of the golden-haired boy who was is half-brother.

And the glare in his honey orbs was one that no doubt could have killed, had looks been able to kill. "Ahbmad! There's something I need to tell you! Hurry up and get your ass down here!" yelled Alibaba at his half-brother.

Ahbmad looked down in absolute rage. "What… what nonsense is this! Who allowed him to enter this palace! Banker! Kill that bastard," screamed an infuriated greedy king.

Markkio looked at Ahbmad in a side glance and asked, "Is that okay? He _is_ a prince of this country, after all."

"What rubbish! I will _never_ accept that _trash_ as a prince!" squealed an angry little piglet.

Markkio looked back at the tallest man. "Then, Entai… hurry up and carry out that order," commanded the _Banker_.

Bowing to Markkio, Entai responded, "Yes." Then he jumped down from the tower overlooking the palace courtyard.

Alibaba glowered at the man, his knife brandished. "What is this… I didn't ask for you," exclaimed an angered prince.

Entai revealed his face, which was hidden behind a veil. "Don't say it like that… we've already met before, you know? Have you already forgotten? However, there really isn't a need for me to introduce myself, is there? Since…" he trailed off as he face and body morphed grotesquely the elephant creature Alibaba had encountered earlier. "…You're going to die here, after all!"

Alibaba gasped as he looked on in slight terror as the realized who the creature before him was. The blond still thought that the dungeon monster before him was some type of super-human with animal transformation abilities (not like Tora, she can change her appearance thanks to very elaborate magic spells). "Let's go, Amon," exclaimed Alibaba as he called forth Amon's flames and hurdled them towards Entai.

Entai deflected Amon's flames by twirling his three trunks in a helicopter motion, sending the flames back towards the blond. After having done that, he stuck in trunks into the nearby fountain as he spoke, " _I am_ the strongest warrior created by the Kou Empire's technology, you know?" Once the grotesque monster collected enough water, he directed a powerful water attack at the prince, intending to put out Amon's flames.

Alibaba dodged the attack, but watched as his Djinn's flames were doused. _Damn it… just what kind of monster is this… he extinguished all the flames!_ thought the frustrated prince.

In a cocky tone, Entai said, almost mockingly, "What…? Is it already over? Then, you just have to die now." The blond gazed harshly at the monster as he replayed Sinbad's words in his head; he was planning on trying to use his Djinn Equip. A large beam of light emitted from the blond's knife, which enveloped the blond. Entai was terribly confused. "H-huh…? That guy is burning himself up."

"This isn't enough. I need to compress even more of Amon's flames with this knife," Alibaba mumbled to himself as he proceeded to do that. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, the flames around his knife scattered. Alibaba quickly had to dodge one of Entai's trunks. "So it's impossible, after all. I can't compress them at all," he continued to mumble.

Entai was fed up with the blond's mumblings. "You, what are you mumbling about? I'm starting to feel annoyed now," exclaimed Entai as he started to stomp on the ground. Much like that of a bratty child who does not get their way.

The young prince dodged the massive brat's stomping and decided that he if he could not use his Djinn Equip, then he would have to use flames. "Djinn Equip," exclaimed Alibaba.

"Those flames of yours are annoying!" yelled Entai, spraying more water at the prince.

Entai swung his trunk at Alibaba, who tried to withstand the attack, but was sent flying. "You… you're _really_ weak! You can't even call yourself a dungeon capturer! Although I have no idea what you're _trying_ to do, it will just be useless and you will die!"

The blond continued to try and compress the flames around his knife, which failed again. Entai unleashed attack after attack, to which the blond managed to dodge. _Why, Amon? Why aren't you responding to me!? Are you trying to tell me that I don't have the qualifications to use you!? Are you going to just let me die like this… Amon!?_ thought a now more frustrated blond.

As the blond was thinking and trying once again to compress the flames, Entai head-butted the blond. The prince was render momentarily unconscious by the force of the blow. "This is a _waste_ of my time," stated the monster as he stomped over to Alibaba and lifted a foot above the unconscious prince.

Just before he was about to be crushed, Alibaba jolted awake and stabbed the monster in the foot. He stood up and got into a royal fighting stance (?). As Entai lunged towards him, Alibaba tried to Djinn Equip one, final time. Which, _finally_ , was a success. The blond split the grotesque elephant monster in half, right down the middle. Looking at the black sword in his hands, Alibaba smiled and said, "I did it. So _this_ is Amon's sword!"

Not taking long to recover from his _victory_ , Alibaba said as he ran off, "The elephant monster has been dealt with!"

From up on the balcony, Ahbmad was pissy. "Che… what a useless thing… is there no one that can finish that piece of junk off!?" he asked, infuriated.

Markkio smiled. "Please be at ease, my king. Because you still have many bodyguards left," he said.

As the young prince made his way, he came across monkeys. "These guys are…! Sorry, but I will have to finish you guys with one blow," he exclaimed as he used his Djinn Equip to start beheading and slicing monkeys. However, the more he sliced and diced the monkey, the more would be created.

What Alibaba did not know what that the more those monkeys were slashed apart, they would always regenerate themselves. They also, unfortunately, possessed human intelligence, making them almost the same as monsters found in dungeons. The monkey attacked Alibaba. "What an annoying bunch!" exclaimed Alibaba and used Amon's flames to kill the monkeys.

The monkey boss jumped down. "Son the monkey boss _finally_ reveals himself," exclaimed Alibaba as he continued to destroy monkeys. "Also, this number of monkeys is troublesome as well! Before my Magoi runs out… I'll eliminate everything!" boldly exclaimed Alibaba as he lunged towards the monkey king.

Before Alibaba could even get close to the big, bad monkey king, an unexpected surprise occurred. Tettia smashed her fist into the monkey boss's face. "I DON'T THINK SO, MONKEY SHIT!" she yelled.

Alibaba looked at Tettia with wide eyes. "T-tet?!" he exclaimed in disbelieve.

Tettia landed in front of him, not looking at him, but off to the right of them. "HEY! IT'S YOUR TURN!" she yelled.

The blond was confused, who was she yelling at. That was when another flash of red streaked across his vision and kneed the monkey boss in the gut. Once her attack landed, she landed beside Tettia. The two Fanalis looked over their shoulders. "Coming here alone… don't you think it's a bit too much…?" questioned Morgiana.

"You brought Morgiana, too?!"

The older half-Fanalis turned around to look at the blond. "You fucking dumbass," she exclaimed in a hurt tone as she punched him in the arm. "What in the absolute _fuck_ did you think you were doing, huh!? You had me worried damn-near to death! I was having a nice little session with my husband and then Morg comes, telling me you left to be the freaking hero?! Are you kidding me!?"

The blond looked at her with an apologetic look in his eyes; however, the look was brief as the the trio were immediately thrusted into fighting off the monkeys. "Why are you two here, Tet?" asked Alibaba as they fought off the monkeys.

"Isn't it obvious, Ali? We want to be your strength! Specifically myself."

"I want to become his strength, too, Tettia," said Morgiana.

Tettia looked at Morgiana and laughed, "Right! I apologize, she does too!"

"This is _exactly_ why I didn't tell you both! I knew you say something like that. Don't you two get it? I didn't tell you guys because this is something I have to do _alone_ ," said Alibaba in an almost hurt tone.

Despite being in the middle of a battle, Tettia stopped and grabbed him by his red rope. "Look here, Alibaba Saluja, you're an idiot if you think _this_ , going on right now, is something you can _handle_ alone. We _all_ need backup from time to time, especially you! Until you learn how to use Amon, you will be stuck with me being by your side in almost every fight, got that? And there's not a damn thing you can say that will stop me," spoke Tettia in the most serious tone Alibaba had ever heard.

Morgiana looked a bit saddened as she spoke, "I know. You still have something that only you can do, hence the reason why you're fighting right now… but that thing you need to do, isn't fighting these guys in this kind of place, right!?" She then jumped in front of Tettia and Alibaba. "Let me handle these guys. Tettia, go with Alibaba."

Tettia looked at Morgiana and let go of Alibaba; she knew that Morgiana had that under control. However, Alibaba did not know that. "Stop fooling around. Do you think Tet and I will let you do this?" he asked as he got back to fighting.

"Ali, she's not fooling around. She's one-hundred percent serious," said Tettia.

The purebred Fanalis screeched loudly, like a lion's roar. Then she turned to Tettia and Alibaba. "Alibaba, it's fine. Although I look like this, I'm actually very strong," she said. Her crimson eyes clashed with Tettia's, they shared a look.

Tettia nodded, before walking over to the younger Fanalis and giving her a hug. "Do your best! And don't die. I will freaking kill you if you die, Morg," she said.

"You know I won't, Tettia. Now, go!" exclaimed Morgiana as she briefly hugged the older Fanalis.

"You got it! Ali, c'mon, we gotta go," spoke Tettia, walking towards the blond.

Alibaba looked at Tettia with confusion, "What do you mean?"

Chuckling, Tettia picked Alibaba up bridal-style, ironically enough. "Like hell you don't know what I mean! You have to beat the shit outta that greedy bastard of a half-brother of yours," she exclaimed as she jumped over the wall, leaving a very capable Morgiana on her own. Landing on the other side of the wall, Tettia called out, "BE SAFE MORG!"

After she yelled that, she took Alibaba's hand and ran. As they ran through the palace, Alibaba leading Tettia, the last beast jumped down from a high up place. He landed in front of them and both the blond and red-head exclaimed, "You're blocking our way. MOVE!"

"What! Alibaba has intruded the royal palace!?" exclaimed Sinbad.

"What the hell should we do, King Moron?" asked Tora.

Sinbad looked out the window as he shook his head. "What a thing to do… after the envoys from the allied countries finally arrived…" he sighed, "At any rate, solving this case in a political way is going to be problematic… no, we still might have a chance! I'm heading to the royal palace! Someone go fetch Tet for me, I'm sure she'll want to go with me, if only to reprimand Alibaba."

" _Yeah_ … about that… Tettia seems to be missing as well," said one of the Fog Troupe members.

"You're _fucking_ **_kidding_** me," exclaimed Tora as she and the other two men followed their king.

Ja'far turned to the remaining members of the Fog Troupe. "If the Fog Troupe is going to make their move now, this place will turn desolate. You should all brace yourselves," he said to them.

"Shit, we really can't do anything," exclaimed a disappointed member of the Fog Troupe. "Boss…!" exclaimed another. Yet another exclaimed, "What is gonna happen…?!"

Something was happening with Aladdin and a woman noticed. "Hey, somehow this kid… seems…?" questioned the woman as she pointed to Aladdin, who was glowing with Rukh.

Tora looked over at Aladdin. "Looks like that little adorable fuck might be close to waking the hell up. And what _wonderful_ timing! I hope he wakes up soon, the sooner the fecking better! Tet will be so happy when he wakes up!"

"You are right about that, Tora. My wife will be so excited when Aladdin wakes up," Sinbad said, smiling to himself as he thought of the huge grin on Tettia's face. The huge grin full of relieve that her _younger brother_ was doing fine.

Casting her pinkish-red eyes towards her king, in fact, she rolled them at him. "I see that look in your eyes, Sinbad. You have it _so bad_ for her, despite not even knowing her for a _decent_ amount of time," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

Sinbad crossed his arms and looked away from his purplenette companion. "I do not know what you're talking about, Tora…"

"Of course not, I am _totally_ doing that later. Maybe for a present of some sort. To prove yourself to me," snickered Tora.

Whipping his head to look at Tora, the king's eyes were filled with disbelief. "You wouldn't!"

Masrur walked up beside his wife with the ghost of a smile. "Oh, she would," he replied.

Even the white-haired man was snickering from behind his sleeve as he agreed, "She would, Sin. And don't pretend you don't know she would."

Somehow the cheetah creature had kept up with Tettia's lunges, having attacked them after blocking their path. His swift lunges were starting to irritate Tettia. "You sure are an annoying, you little bastard!"

Just as the the cheetah man was about to plunge his sword at Tettia, Alibaba swung his sword and saw that it cut through steel. "Did you see that, Tet?!" he asked, briefly looking back at the half-Fanalis.

Tettia was huffing slightly. "Good for you, lover boy. Can you finish this? I'm slightly . tired from the sprint over here…"

The blond blushed at the name _lover boy_. "Y-yeah!" he exclaimed as he went in for the _kill_. However, just before Amon's sword clashed with the cheetah, Alibaba exhausted his Magoi.

The color in Tettia's face drained immediately. "FUCK ME RUNNING!" she exclaimed, readying herself to jump into combat once again. She had caught her breath.

"You, seems like you've exhausted your Magoi! I see you are a dungeon capture, boy, but… once you deplete your Magoi, you cannot use your Djinn. I was just thinking about facing you two in a contest of swordsmanship," he said, throwing his ruined sword and pulling out another sword. "Now, we'll battle with our sword skills!"

Cheetah boy lunged at the blond and Tettia sprang into action. "Oh, no, no, no, cat-boy. I'll be your first opponent," she said, her twin daggers clanging against his sword. Her crimson eyes caught golden ones.

A silent looked was exchanged between the two. _Alibaba, you'd better do something to restore your Magoi… and QUICK!_ her eyes said to him.

"Quick, Tet! Move!" he exclaimed. Alibaba nodded and brought out the barrels of oil and threw them at the cheetah. Tettia nodded and jumped out of the way as the oil splashed onto the cheetah. The blond brought something else and scraped it against his knife until a spark flew.

Tettia was throughly impressed as the oil exploded into fire, she laughed like a child in a candy shop. "That's amazing!"

"What are you think? Playing with fire won't work," said the cheetah.

Chuckling, Tettia replied, "Wanna bet me money, cat-boy?"

Alibaba's knife absorbed the flames and his Djinn equip was back and he sliced the cheetah. "Sorry, but, I'm not fooling around. _We_ aren't fooling around," he said seriously.

"That was hot~!" gushed Tettia as she attacked the blond with a hug, kissing his cheek.

Catching her with one of his arms, he was blushing. "What's up with you and always kissing my cheek?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What? Want me to actually kiss you again? Want me to make it better than the last time with kissed? Geez… it's been what… six, seven months?" asked Tettia, smirking at the blond.

Alibaba sputtered, "I-I… n-ne…"

"Geez, lover boy. If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask, I doubt Sinny will mind it," winked Tettia. "Anyways, we gotta go. We can kiss later."

Alibaba nodded and they took off, running through the castle to the throne room. They ran up stairs that led to the throne-room. Having used up all his Magoi, Alibaba's Djinn Equip disappeared. The blond and red-head burst into the room, through the guards in front of door. "Ahbmad! We're back to settle the fucking score, bitch!" screamed Tettia, who had her daggers drawn.

Ahbmad glowered down at the two he deemed as _trash_. The duo then noticed that there was a crater in the room, with dead bodies strewn across the crater. "Was that done by those monsters!?" asked Alibaba to himself and Tettia.

Tettia looked at the blond beside her and replied in a hushed tone, "Yes, it is."

The greedy so-called king of Balbadd continued to glower at the duo. His voice rang out, clearly hard, crisp and full of irritation, "Banker, somehow the bodyguards have failed to serve their purpose… of getting rid of these scum."

"Yes… however, it seems that in the battle against Engi, Alibaba has used up all his Magoi… he cannot use his Djinn Equip anymore," said Markkio. "However, that girl beside him, despite having plenty of Magoi, seems slightly exhausted."

Sheathing her daggers, Tettia stood up, exiting her battle stance. "Heh, you're funny," she said with a snicker.

"From here on, I won't be needing the Djinn's power. The people in this room are different from those monsters. They're all citizens of Balbadd. Neither Tettia nor myself intend to kill any of them. Ahbmad, I, along with Tettia, came here to take back this country and its imperial rule from you!" exclaimed the blond, looking seriously at his half-brother.

"W-what is going on…?" questioned a solider.

Ahbmad looked at his soldiers and then ordered, "Kill them both." The soldiers looked back at their king with a confused look, not knowing what to do. "What are you lot doing? Execute the rebels. Banker has already said that he and that girl have little to no remaining strength left," he said harshly.

"It's too hasty…" muttered a soldier. They all reluctantly stepped towards the _rebels_.

Alibaba and Tettia growled out, seriously, "All of you, stand back!" After that, Alibaba continued, "I come in the name of a prince, to speak with king Ahbmad! Do you really think this country can continue on like it is? All of you should have already realized what the state of the country is in now!"

Tettia nodded and added, "It is in a terrible condition! And you should all know who is responsible for this — Ahbmad!"

Glaring at the duo, Ahbmad said harshly, "Kill them. That boy is just a thing of trash from the slums, and that girl is not even from this country. Don't pay either of them any heed!"

Both Tettia and Alibaba were surrounded by the soldier's spears. "Let go!" yelled Alibaba and Tettia, struggling against the spears, trying to shove them out of their faces.

"L-let go of Alibaba and Tettia!" yelled Sabhmad, finally taking control.

Ahbmad whipped his head to look at Sabhmad. "Sabhmad!?" he questioned in confusion, before he laughed it off, "Haha… why did you shout like that? You scared me. You stand back now."

Poor Sabhmad stuttered up a storm trying to stand up to his brother. "B-brother, I-I…"

"Don't bother. You all proceed with the command. Kill those things!" exclaimed Ahbmad.

"Barkak!" exclaimed Sahbmad, not just going to take this nonsense any longer. "Please capture and surprise the royal guards!" The general did as he was told.

Ahbmad stood up, irritated. "Ngh!? You laptop of the first king… I _knew_ that you would defy me and finally you lost your mind, Barkak! The rest of you! Don't listen to this worthless person here either," he yelled, pointing at his brother and deputy king, "This person is just an _accessory_! Just a fool who has no right to speak politics! You all know that already, don't you!?"

That nonsense that just fell from Ahbmad's mouth had Tettia glaring in anger. She could not believe he had just said that, about his very own brother no less. It was disgusting. "You little fucking prick… who do you think you are, huh?! I don't give a _damn_ on if you're the bloody king or not, who do you think you are?! That man is _your brother_! He is your deputy king, you show him the motherfucking respect he deserves, you… you… you little spoiled twat," yelled Tettia, bawling her hands into tight fists. An unbridled rage swelled inside her.

Sabhmad was sick of being pushed around. He grabbed the scepter from his brother and exclaimed, "I order you, in the name of the deputy king! Absolutely _no one_ can disturb this discussion between the third prince, Alibaba, his friend and our present king! Now, all of you, lower your spears!"

Alibaba, Tettia and Ahbmad looked at the deputy king, along with the soldiers in the room. The former two looked on with amazement and respect, while the latter looked on with distain and confusion. "De-deputy king…!?" questioned a solider. "What should we do now…!?" asked another. They lowered their spears, as ordered.

"This is… you bastards! So you teamed up with the rebels?! Sahbmad, _this_ is your _coup d'état_!?" asked Ahbmad in an irritated tone.

Sahbmad stood in front of his brother, with Tettia and Alibaba behind him. The half-Fanalis glaring harshly at the greedy king. "And so, you've really been siding with the rebels all along, huh, Sahbmad? All this while, you've been hiding and leaking information to that _terrorist group_ , the _Fog Troupe_ … is that what you're trying to tell me!?" exclaimed an angered king.

The younger brother nodded and replied, "That's right."

"Ha! Have you gone mad!? A member of the royalty rebelling against his own country!?" laughed an unbelieving Ahbmad.

Shaking his head side-to-side, Sabhmad replied, "My mind is definitely sane. The madness is in your way of doing things. I decided to help the _Fog Troupe_ because I saw the true madness of your way of dealing with our country's inner-workings. I've discussed everything with Alibaba and now that he is here, with Tettia… Brother, I wanted to tell you that I thought that even if I was alone, the signing ceremony would not proceed."

Glaring at his own brother, Ahbmad hissed, "What is this about?"

"Brother, or rather, King Ahbmad… step down from the throne immediately," continued Sahbmad in a serious tone. Ahbmad was shocked, soldiers from the crowd murmured to themselves. Meanwhile, the duo stared at the deputy king's older brother with fierce determination — the red-head staring at the king with a fierce and inextinguishable fire burning in her crimson gaze. Once more, the deputy king continued, "As everyone here knows, the country has deteriorated beyond recovery… and so, the signing ceremony tomorrow would conclude the _National Slavery Act_ Treaty for the sake of saving this country! Before that can happen, I will have you — my brother — step down from the royal throne!"

Becoming enraged, Ahbmad spat, "So _this_ is your scheme?! To replace me as king, huh, Sahbmad!?"

"I… I… that wasn't what I had in mind…" muttered Sahbmad.

"KILL HIM!" yelled Ahbmad, "This person is a rebel that plotted to assassinate the king! Bring me his head at once!"

As the soldiers were moving, Alibaba and Tettia exclaimed a serious, "Hold it!" Standing in front of Sabhmad, the duo had their arms stretched out, acting like a shield. "Please think carefully about what you should be doing! This is your _last chance_! Citizens that will be affected when that _Citizen Slavery Act_ Treaty concludes… well, that includes _every, single_ one of you here," they exclaimed, Tettia speaking more harshly than Alibaba.

Ahbmad was getting even more furious. "Lieutenant! Soldiers of the _National Armed Forces_ , submit to the orders of your king!"

Tettia looked over at the king who was being a little brat. "They're not going to be listening to you anymore, Your Royal _Brattiness_! They will not submit themselves to a corrupt king anymore! At least not anymore, now that _we_ are rebelling and putting things into retrospect, they refuse to listen to you. Tch, those soldiers which you had brutally killed by those dungeons bastards from the Kou Empire — just to prove that they were indeed stronger than your best fighters, which they obviously were without having to be tested — were the lieutenant's subordinates and all of the soldiers' friends. They know that they'll be next, should your horrible rule continue," she spoke with great hatred boiling up from inside her.

The soldiers around Ahbmad go silent as well as still at Tettia's words. "What's wrong… why have you all fallen silent? That girl's words hold no relevance! Listen to me!"

Sahbmad hung his head in shame at his brother's idiocy. "It's useless now, brother. When it was decided that the king would sell the people as slaves, everyone's hearts had already left you. Ahbmad, it ended a long time ago…"

The king stood there, his mouth wide open and was unable to try and process what had just happened. However, that only was for a brief moment. Unable to believe it, he laughed and pointed to his deputy king — basically putting Sahbmad down and ridiculing him, "Everyone here, what has gotten into you…? Being carried along with _this_ person's cajolery! Calm yourselves down and think clearly! What happens after I withdraw from the throne? Are you telling me that _this_ person can be your king?"

"Brother, that wasn't my motive… I don't meet the requirements…" quietly said Sahbmad.

Glaring, the greedy king hissed, "Motive!? Requirements!? After this _coup d'état_ , could you — as my little brother — think that there would be no responsibilities for you to handle!? Stand here." Ahbmad forced his brother to stand where he stood and gave him the scepter. "Try having a taste of what taking on responsibility as a member of the royal family is like from the throne!" Sahbmad looked up and was horrified, everyone was looking at him. Ahbmad smirked victoriously as he continued to say in a smarmy way, quite like the little asshole he was, "How is it? Everyone is waiting, expecting to follow orders from you. Think: it's not just these people here… if you take me down from the throne, even the citizens outside the palace will be expecting things from you! They'll be listening to every word and sentence that you speak. What's wrong? Try speaking with that _loud_ voice as you have been doing."

Sahbmad shook from the pressure. He was rendered frozen in place, he cast his eyes down at the floor — unable to handle being stared at by those in the room. Tears swelled at the corners of his eyes. Crippling anxiety of not wanting to do or say something wrong was crushing him.

Meanwhile, Ahbmad was laughing and smiling like a spoiled brat. "Look! You can't do it! You're afraid of people and can't say a single word! You're just a coward who can't do anything!" yelled Ahbmad as he took the staff back.

Sahbmad sat on the floor, hiding his crying face in his hands. Tettia lunged towards the deputy king, she got onto her knees touched Sahbmad's shoulder comfortingly. "Stop it," sternly said both Tettia and Alibaba, "Sahbmad is _no_ coward."

"He threw aside thought for his own safety and by himself, came to the Fog Troupe's hideout to speak to me," said Alibaba, glaring at his oldest half-brother.

"The deputy king did!" asked a soldier from behind Tettia and the deputy king.

Tettia looked back at the soldier and said, "Aye. He did. If he was a coward, he wouldn't've done that for this country."

Sahbmad was touched by the duo's words, but he did not feel that way about himself. "Thank you Alibaba and Tettia… but I really _am_ a coward… even today, if you two hadn't come here, I wouldn't have been able to do anything…" he muttered.

Alibaba faced his older half-brother and spoke, "What you are saying… that should be my line. If I didn't have your help, I don't know what would have happened. Though barging into the palace alone was crazy… somehow, to conclude in this time and manner, at the time when you courageously strained your voice, wasn't it because everyone was thinking the same way?"

Tettia nodded in agreement, looking at Sahbmad — who was casting his gaze periodically at the blond and red-head. "That is why you are definitely _not_ a coward, Sahbmad, you're a man of courage," she exclaimed, giving the deputy king a side-hug. Sahbmad was smiling gratefully at the two for their words. After she gave Sahbmad a hug, she stood up next to Alibaba.

Shaking in anger, the greedy brat sputtered, "D… do… don't…" he grabbed a soldier's sword and lunged at the trio. "Don't you dare make fun of me, you pieces of trash!"

Tettia immediately shoved past Alibaba and stood in front of the blond, waiting for the brat to near her. Ahbmad did and swung his sword at her, expecting to kill her. However, instead, Tettia deflected the sword with one of her daggers. Quickly, with her other hand, she disarmed the brat by yanking the sword from Ahbmad's grip. Once that was done, she viciously slapped Ahbmad's face. The slap sent him to the ground.

Ahbmad rubbed his face, mumbling, "Oh… not even father…"

Crimson eyes glared harshly down at him, however, it was not the owner of those eyes who spoke. "Ahbmad… it is true that during your reign, the Kou Empire's obstinacy in intervening with our country's politics hindered you from ruling the kingdom righteously; however, driving the country into a corner is the result of the person steering it, and so… use this situation now… to step down from the throne," said Alibaba, everyone standing behind him, glowering down at the brat on the floor.

Some soldiers started walking away. "Wha… what is this…? Where, where are you going? I'm the king! The twenty-third king of Balbadd, Ahb-Ahb-Ahbmad Saluja!" exclaimed a desperate brat, grasping at straws of his reign. "I am… I am…" he muttered.

The half-Fanalis smiled victoriously, that brat had finally been broken. He was no longer king, but was futilely grasping at the idea. "You are nothing but a royal brat and pain in the ass," spat a still angry Tettia.

"What, pray-tell, is this commotion about?" came a female's voice.

That voice struck a chord with Tettia, who whipped her head around violently to look at that pinkette brat from a few days ago. The Kou Empire's brat held a intense frown and her pink eyes were hard, boring, and narrowed to a point as she walked.

"What should we do, Alibaba? Tettia? That woman is probably brother's…" whispered Sahbmad.

That pinkette tried to walk through the throne-room like she was all that and Tettia was not having it. "Oh, look. It's _HER_ , again," whispered a now even more pissy half-Fanalis. The bratty princess looked at Tettia, her eyes immediately widening. The two women looked at one another, both glaring harshly.

The Nando brothers were walking away from the old lighthouse with Sinbad's stolen metal vessels as loot. "Bro, there sure is quite a commotion in the royal palace, huh?" asked the youngest brother.

"We've already gotten our treasure, so we should leave before we get caught up in that big mess," said the oldest brother.

The middle brother looked at Sinbad's stolen stuff. "But, is it really okay? This is Sinbad's stuff… if this is a metal vessel, wouldn't he need it?"

Tora, who had been silently stalking the brothers, said with a crack of her neck, "You're right. King Moron would fucking need that stuff. Now, are you three gonna kindly and effortlessly hand them back over to me, or am I gonna have to kill one or two of ya?" Her pinkish-red eyes stared at them, almost glowing in excitement.

Turning to look at Tora, the three brothers almost wet themselves. Shoving the metal vessels at her, they exclaimed, "Take them! Please don't hurt us!"

"Awwww… you three are no fucking fun, I was damn-well hoping that I would have to knock some heads together before I got these damn things back," pouted Tora.

The three brothers noticed something and said, "Bro! What is that?"

"Huh? What?" asked Tora as she whipped her head around to see two bright lights. One coming from the lighthouse base, and the other coming from the palace. "Oh… this might be bad… I should get back now. Thanks for King Moron's things back, guys, though I still wish I coulda hit ya! Gotta run," exclaimed Tora as she sprinted back towards the lighthouse.

Reaching the base, Tora ran to Aladdin's room and barreled through the door. "WHAT'D I MISS?!" she yelled, dropping Sinbad's stuff to the floor to shield her own eyes.

"Something is wrong with Aladdin! But we don't know what exactly is wrong with him," exclaimed Ja'far, who was shielding his eyes. "The Rukh… they're gathered so much to the point that we can see it…"

The bratty dark pinkette stood, glaring at the lot of royals, having stopped looking for Sinbad. "We came here upon hearing the commotion. I am the eighth imperial princess of the Kou Empire, Ren Kougyoku, king Ahbmad's betrothed wife," said Kougyoku.

Tettia snickered quietly from behind her hand, keeping the hysteric laughter bottled within her. That brat was betrothed to the other brat, it was perfect. A match made in heaven: they were both annoying and could destroy a country in a week once married. Upon having that thought, Tettia was having to clasp her hand fully over her mouth as to keep the hysteric laughter inside. She even slightly leaned on Alibaba for support, and also not knowing she was leaning.

"My apologies, but I haven't seen his face even once. So, exactly which one of you is the king of this country?" asked bratty Kougyoku.

"THAT, WOULD BE ME!" screamed Ahbmad.

One look at Ahbmad and the princess was disgusted with him. _That is the man I'm to be married to?!_ thought the princess hysterically to herself. "…I see…" she mumbled.

Markkio, being the antagonist he was, butted in, "Well, you see princess… we don't know who the king of this country is. Only just now, the third prince, his friend and the deputy king caused a _coup d'état_ and king Ahbmad was forced to step down… the next king of this country is yet to be decided…"

"Ba-banker… you!" hissed Ahbmad, pointing angrily at Markkio.

Kougyoku was having an inner monologue as she composed herself. "Whoever it is, I don't really care. The order I was given from my country was to _'Marry the_ ** _king of Balbadd_** _in order to conclude the treaty.'_ It doesn't matter who the king is… therefore, please choose your new king quickly," she said, glowering at everyone.

Tettia cleared her throat. "Okay, look here, brat, you have no say in the matter. You sit back and keep that damned bratty mouth of yours shut, understand me, brat?"

"Are you threatening the princess of another country, _Queen_ Tettia?" sneered the princess.

"No, I'm not. I'm _commanding_ you to stay out of this, princess. You get to sit there, with your mouth shut, until they choose a king," said Tettia.

Barkak nodded, "Certainly… we have to choose a new king soon. If we proceed by the ranks, you will be the next king, deputy king."

"I… will not become the king. I don't fit the requirements. On top of that, I didn't stop my brother's evil acts until today, therefore, I bear the same weight of sins as him. However, there is someone who had tried to stop it multiple times… someone other than me…" Sahbmad said, pointing to Alibaba.

Kougyoku looked at Alibaba with lackluster eyes and in a dull tone said, "You will be the new king of Balbadd?"

"I… I will not become the king of this country. Sahbmad, even I do not have the right to become king. I only accepted the invitation from our original king into the palace, shortly after which he passed on. Moreover, I irresponsibly threw away my country and escaped, it wouldn't be good for me to rule over the country," said Alibaba. His words shocked everyone, save Tettia.

Kougyoku looked less than pleased and still dully, spoke, "So, how should this be settled? The decision will be made by tomorrow's signing ceremony, right?"

"I have something to say about the signing ceremony tomorrow," said Alibaba.

"Who… are you…?" questioned the foreign princess.

Alibaba looked her dead in her dull pink eyes and said, "The third prince, Alibaba Saluja."

"I see, and what do you have to say," said Kougyoku.

Looking over at his red-head companion, who nodded for him to go on, Alibaba spoke, "I have a request to make of you, the representative of the Kou Empire for the _Citizen Rights_ pact that is supposed to conclude tomorrow… I want you to destroy it."

That shocked the princess and Tettia snickered to herself and Alibaba, "Yeah, drown it with your stupid water powers."

Alibaba chuckled under his breath at her snide remark before continuing, "The treaty was what the former king, Ahbmad, decided on, but seeing as he has stepped down, the people in the country do not wish for something such as a _Citizens Rights Pact_."

Everyone nodded. "So it seems," remarked an annoyed princess. "But I cannot destroy the pact! The treaty is what both our countries agreed on together. No matter who becomes the next king, there's no way around it. I _will_ marry the person who is chosen to be king tomorrow!"

"That is… impossible," said Alibaba.

Kougyoku pressed on, "I _will_ carry out the signing ceremony with you!"

"That is also… impossible," spoke the blond.

"What are you saying!?" exclaimed Kougyoku.

"Geez, look, bratty… this is why you'd never have anyone fall in love with you. You're too stubborn," mumbled Tettia, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He means that there will be no new king, you idiot!" she exclaimed at the princess.

Those words had Kougyoku narrowing her dull eyes at Tettia. "What do you mean? Both of you."

Sighing, Tettia had to point out the obvious, "Meaning, today, Alibaba and this country will be putting an end to the monarchy in Balbadd!" Everyone was now even more shocked than they ever could have been before. The foreign princess's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in disbelief. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she continued to explain in Alibaba's place. "Simply put: what the citizens want is not a king, but to live life happily. To be properly fed, clothed, sheltered and bathed. However, they cannot live happily because of corruption in the royalty, in monarchy. If there is no king, the people will be able to live well. There are several countries like this through the desert. Isn't that right, Alibaba?"

"Yes. In those countries, people gathered their strength, choose representatives, and lived according to the way they agreed upon — forming each their own self-governing city-states. They were peaceful… and that is what I want to make happen in Balbadd," spoke Alibaba.

Ahbmad, for obvious reasons, was against it. "You fools! Quit joking! Are trying to destroy the royal family of Balbadd that has been around for twenty-three generations already!?"

"If things continued as they are, no matter who becomes the king, this country will perish!" exclaimed both Tettia and Alibaba.

Narrowing her eyes at the former king of Balbadd, Tettia said lowly, "Now, I suggest you shut your filthy mouth, you rotten scum. If you don't, since you are no longer royalty, I _will_ teach you a very painful lesson."

Alibaba continued, "Since all the citizen are already under national slavery, continuing the monarchy is the worst that could happen! No matter who becomes king, the nation slavery will not be stopped. Balbadd's monarchy has already been horribly corrupted! We'll rid the people of a tyrannical ruler. After that, the royal family and the nobles' superior status will be completely removed from them. The country's land, rights and property will be returned to the people. The citizens will elect their own representatives, create their own civil government and then make up a parliament. From there, the course of the country will be decided by the citizens. And if… it be permitted, I will also help in creating this country. I want to devote my existence to Balbadd!" He clenched his fists tightly. "To make Balbadd an outstanding republic citizen state! _That_ is what I've come here to do!"

Tettia looked at Alibaba, loving the way his eyes sparked to life at the mention of helping his country. She was impressed by his resolve to devote himself wholeheartedly to that country. "Way to go, Ali… you said it," she whispered to him.

"To put an end… to monarchy!? I… I never thought about it before… but it may just work! Many of those types of countries exist in the west!" exclaimed Barkak. Sahbmad stared at Alibaba with amazement.

Kougyoku stared at Alibaba, trying to determine if the blond was telling the truth. _Is he saying that there won't be a king? That means, I really have no idea what to do for tomorrow's wedding or signing ceremony! What… exactly is this boy saying!?_ thought a hysteric princess.

"My, my… so _that_ is your answer? Alibaba!" said Sinbad as he and three other people walked into the room.

"Ah! Sinbad!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Kougyoku looked at Sinbad and began to blush. Tettia saw this and growled to herself; however, she quickly left Alibaba's side and ran to Sinbad. "There you are, Sinny~! I was wondering when you'd come," she said, kissing her _husband_ 's cheek.

The purple-haired king looked down at his wife and kissed her forehead in return. "Here you are, Tet. I was starting to worry about where my wife had run off to," he said.

The dark-skinned man, the large bluenette man, and the woman who all stood around Sinbad looked at the purple-haired king and his _wife_. "Wait…? Excuse me?" whispered the dark-skinned man.

"Hey there. This is just a ploy to get the blond over there jealous. And also to keep that pinkette bitch from thinking she has a chance with Sinny," Tettia whispered to the dark-skinned man.

"Ohh," he whispered and smiled. "I like you already, Mrs. Sinbad."

Tettia snickered endearingly. "Why thank you," she whispered back.

Kougyoku looked at Sinbad, his wife, and the three people with the purple-haired king. _Exactly what is going on? Really… that boy says he wants to end the monarchy… then the wedding with the supposed king Ahbmad cannot proceed, and this_ ** _that_** _person comes… and above that, he brings dangerous looking friends along. And he has his exceptionally powerful wife_ , thought the princess, glaring at Tettia.

"I understand that I am interrupting a matter of great importance to the country, please excuse me, but I do suppose my wife being here means I am to join at any time. At any rate, I have arrived late. No, you didn't need our help in the first place, Alibaba," said Sinbad as he and his friends walked towards the blond.

"King Sinbad… and who are they…!?" asked Alibaba.

Gesturing to the three, Sinbad said, "They are diplomatic leaders from three countries from the alliance that I am directing. I was only able to gather from those three countries."

"Alliance…!?" questioned some soldiers.

Barkak gasped, "The _Alliance of the Seven Seas!_ "

"The Alliance of the Seven Seas!"

"The alliance of seven countries that King Sinbad created…! Whichever country or small state it is, each has their own great hidden strength! The country of Heliohapt, the country of Artemyra, the country of Imuchakk… why are diplomatic chiefs of these countries — why are they here all at once!?"

The three spoke, "To recommend prince Alibaba Saluja as king of Balbadd."

"I thought that to save Balbadd, it would be best if you were king, therefore, I called them over. But, it seems you came up with a completely different answer," said Sinbad.

Alibaba just looked at Sinbad with a solemn gaze. "Sinbad… I'm sorry for doing things my own way. I thought about what you said — to become the king… but to this country, they've decided, that a king brings poverty and strife. That's why… for Balbadd to be reborn, the nonexistence of a king is key. _That_ is my answer," said Alibaba. The two shared a look.

"Please hold on for a moment," said Kougyoku. "Being reborn and becoming a republic… it's as if you're leaving Balbadd to free reign? But you, aren't you forgetting something? Balbadd's trading rights, marine rights, air, realm, and every other right, all of it! The collateral of debts for these will be transferred to our Kou Empire!? That means… everything that is needed in Balbadd belongs to the Kou Empire. And there isn't anything you can do about it!"

"Can I kill her yet?" Tettia asked Sinbad quietly.

Ruffling her hair, Sinbad replied, whispering in her ear, "No. You may not kill her and start a war with the Kou Empire."

The king's red-head queen pouted. "You're no fun… nobody would know she died… I'd poison her…" she muttered.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. No means no, my dear. I don't need a war on my shoulders. Do need to punish you when we get back?" whispered Sinbad.

Tettia's face erupted in a wave of red. "N-no! I-I understand, Sinny! Do-don't punish me," she muttered.

Sinbad smiled and kissed her cheek. "Good Tet," he said with a smirk.

The blond prince glared at Sinbad as he whispered in Tettia's ear. Snapping out of it, he looked at the pink-eyed princess. "I understand that well… but the transfer of rights, all of it… please take it as if it didn't happen," exclaimed Alibaba.

Everyone looked at the blond with utter shock at his plea. "WHA…!?" yelled Kougyoku.

"Please think about it. King Ahbmad, whose you've exchanged those arrangements with has been taken from the throne. The country of Balbadd which you are referring to has already been destroyed and is a country that no longer exists! What is constructed from now on, is a completely new country! Therefore, the arrangements we had with the Kou Empire shouldn't continue to be in effect! Am I wrong!?" exclaimed Alibaba.

Tettia laughed, "Ali's got you there, you rancid bitch!"

Ka Koubun looked at Alibaba and thought, _This is a meaningless quibble. There isn't a reason why the arrangement should be cancelled formally because of the relation to the country… about the replacement of the political structure and Balbadd being Balbadd._

Alibaba thought to himself as well, _I know that this is a forced argument, but…_ "In any case, the truth us that there isn't a marriage partner for you tomorrow, princess. Once all the arrangements have been cancelled, won't you return to his majesty's, the emperor's side?" asked the blond.

"Meaningless…" muttered Kougyoku.

Ka Koubun nodded. _Yes, yes, it would be good if you return the argument now_ , he thought.

Kougyoku continued, "If I were to return, what makes you think my father won't just brush me aside?"

 _"If I return"!? What are you saying, princess!?_ thought a confused Ka Koubun.

Tettia snickered to herself. "As I thought… little brat's authority is not great. She knew it was inevitable. Politically speaking, the _eight imperial princess_ probably doesn't have a particularly large amount of right to decide things. Also, it seems that she doesn't want to be involved in this stupid political marriage," she said to herself.

Alibaba also noticed that the dark pinkette's distaste for the political marriage and therefore he said, "I cannot fulfill your motive of coming here to be married! Please return!"

"The Kou Empire wants to acquire this land untarnished. However, if that cannot be accomplished, my father may have to reply his troops here," retorted Kougyoku.

Still pressingly, Alibaba said, "I also ask you to turn a bling eye on that!"

"How impudent you are!" exclaimed Kougyoku.

"Of course, I'm not asking it for free! When you finally annex this country, it will be when we've grown to become a formidable economic power! My country will repay you with its maritime trade! Balbadd is the marine trading hub of the south-east region… it is your choice to wage war now and make it a barren wasteland, or sho kindness now and reap the profits in the future… if you want your respected _empire_ to not rely only a military force for politics, but also to prosper under a prudent emperor, which would you choose? Princess!"

Tettia was leaning against Sinbad, having her hair played with once again, to keep herself calm. "They're bickering like you and Tora do…" she muttered.

"I know," Sinbad whispered with a small chuckle.

The dark pinkette said through gritted teeth, "… I won't go along with that, that kind of reasoning!"

That was when Sinbad voiced, "I believe that his majesty wouldn't send his troops here. That's because the peaceful kingdom of Balbadd is under the Alliance of the Seven Seas. What we, the Seven Seas Alliance, have in mind is for you not to raid this country. We can leave his majesty alone without even a glance."

"Eh… however, will the Alliance of the Seven Seas go to the extent of including Balbadd? Is that really true that you'll go to that end…?" asked Kougyoku in a bland way.

Tettia sneered, whispering to Sinbad, "Please let me kill her, she's such a bitch."

Sinbad continued to play with her hair. "No, no, no."

"It's true! At least for some time, we had that arrangement. From before the first kings, Balbadd and Sindria have had very deep and close ties! Oh, did you not know…?" said Alibaba.

"… Was that so, Ka Koubun."

"That is… true, but, that matter and this matter are unrelated," whined Ka Koubun.

Kougyoku sighed, "I think… leaving this case to his majesty to settle would be for the best… but we will have conditions for our withdrawal. For the case of Balbadd being truly included into the Alliance of the Seven Seas, you, king of Sindria, must come personally to see the emperor and show us proof!"

"Excuse me?! I still am his wife, I will be going to!"

"I will definitely pay a visit. Also, Tet, you are my wife and queen, but this is something I need to do by myself — as much as it will pain me to leave you alone — as the leader of the Seven Seas Alliance," he said.

Tettia pouted and looked moved her head to look away from him. "Fuck you…" she muttered.

Gently grabbing her chin, Sinbad made her look at him once again. "Oh don't look away from me. And don't be mad, Tet," he spoke sweetly to her.

Once again, Tettia blushed, still pouting. "I'm still mad at you…" she muttered in a pouty voice.

"Awww, what can I do to get you un-mad at me?" asked the purple-haired king.

Tettia thought a moment. "Play with my hair… _aaaaaannnnnddddd_ give me a back rub. My back is hurting," she said, smiling. "Oh! And maybe a kiss~"

Kougyoku was irritated by those two just as much as Alibaba was. "That will be it!" she exclaimed as she turned to walk out of the room. Ka Koubun ran after her.

Once the princess left the room, Sinbad let go of his wife's chin. "I'll give you a kiss when we're in a more private place," he said.

Alibaba glowered at the king, who had his arm wrapped around the red-head's frame. Jealousy is a bitch and Alibaba was beginning to understand that better than anybody. "You'd better give me a damn good kiss, Sinny~!" retorted Tettia, watching the blond's reaction out of the corner of her eye. The blond's reaction had not disappointed, his jaw dropped slightly and his eyes burned with unbridled jealousy; something Tettia wanted.

* * *

 **A/N: Still having too much fun being a bitch and making Ali increasingly jealous os Sin and Tet xD**


	16. The Republic and More Problems

**Chapter Sixteen: The Republic and More Problems**

* * *

Sinbad laughed quietly then turned to the diplomatic chiefs and dismissed them, thanking them for coming on such short notice. Once the diplomatic chiefs left, he faced Tettia again. He smiled and began to play with her hair again as he spoke to her, "Of course, Tet. You doubt my kissing abilities?"

Smiling a toothy grin, Tettia looked into the purple-haired king's eyes and replied in an almost whisper, "No. I don't doubt your abilities, Sinny. However, I've only ever kissed someone once, and it was the result of me not wanting to die without having my first kiss. I won't lie and say I haven't thought about kissing that person again, though."

"It was Alibaba, wasn't it?" quietly questioned a smirking Sinbad.

Tettia nodded slightly. "Yeah, it was Ali…"

Barkak stood behind Alibaba, who was looking ahead, at the door Kougyoku exited from. "The diplomatic chiefs… everyone has returned… and we haven't even expressed our gratitude…" spoke Barkak.

Walking up behind the blond prince, Sinbad and Tettia spoke, "Really, you truly are reckless."

Alibaba whipped his head around to look at the king, who still had one of his hands tangled in red hair. "Mister Sinbad! Tet!" he exclaimed. Almost immediately, Alibaba snapped his eyes to look at Sinbad's hand tangled in the half-Fanalis's red hair with an envious golden gaze.

"Sneaking into the royal palace by yourself like that, having to have my wife come and make sure you didn't die, at a point I didn't know what to expect," spoke Sinbad in a chastising way.

Alibaba bowed in apology. "I apologize! Willfully doing things…"

"Sinny really should have expected that you would be thinking of something like this, though. I wish he would have told me so I could've been in on it in case it actually happened. Thanks for keeping me informed," she said, elbowing Sinbad's side.

Sinbad laughed as he was nudged. "Oh, well I'm sorry that I didn't let you in on it. I never thought he would actually do it," he replied.

Rolling her eyes playfully, his wife replied, "Oh yeah, because that's a good reason to not tell me. Kinda like how you never told anybody I was your wife?" Tettia's lips were curled into a devious smile.

"I… I-… look…" Sinbad stumbled to find the words, eventually sighing.

"That's what I thought, handsome," Tettia said, caressing Sinbad's cheek briefly as he played with her hair. After retracting her hand from Sinbad's cheek, Tettia placed her hand on Alibaba's shoulder and said, "Back to business. From now on, you'll really have to put in your best effort, Ali."

Despite feeling jealous of Sinbad, Alibaba smiled brightly at Tettia. "Yeah! You know I will," he said.

"Erm, Alibaba… what should we do from now on?" asked Sahbmad.

Barkak spoke, "I believe that the end of monarchy will have merit for the peace movement. However, this country cannot continue with the sudden loss of a government…"

"Exactly! That's why we will need to construct an interim government. To shape the formation of a republic, firstly we will need to involve the representatives from the citizens to open a discussion session… because to hold an election, we will have to have an executive committee. Even though they are already in the royal palace, let's call the matomo and gather up the government officials. Please do it immediately. I want to hear your opinions about the elections, elder brother Sahbmad and Barkak," spoke Alibaba, clearly much thought put into his words.

Tettia still had her hand on his shoulder, her crimson eyes glaring at Ahbmad. "What about the royal brat?" she questioned.

The blond turned his attention to his oldest half-brother. Taking in a deep breath, he said, "I want the previous King Ahbmad to be held in confinement on a solitary island within Balbadd's territorial waters. The people may ask for a death sentence, but… I do not want to kill my own brother. Anyway, currently, no on is allowed to punish another in this country. The reason is because the penal law has to be reconstructed. Let's slowly build up order. Though I said _republicanism_ , there are many ways to go about doing that and you may be puzzled, but what I want to see is success — something like that of the Urban State, Kashgan, that's in the middle of the desert. I want to see Balbadd become like that country, where there is a complete citizen-ruled government; where everyone is not judged by race, upbringing, wealth of income, but a country ruled by equality… everyone, wouldn't you wish the same…?"

Sinbad and Tettia smiled, the former still playing with red hair. "Looks like he's serious…" they said in unison.

"Let's try it!" said a soldier.

"I wonder if that'll turn out well?" voiced Markkio. "Republicanism, you say? I wonder if that'll go smoothly? Your highness, the prince. I, too, have travelled and seen such countries, but these countries which proclaim equality definitely spawn governors… and they become a fatal flaw. No matter how much you wish for equality… people who want to govern _will_ appear and in the end, people will _still_ be governed. Even for this kingdom, there will be people who wish to be king."

Tettia growled threateningly and narrowed her eyes at the _banker_. "Bitch, if you don't shut the fuck up, I _will_ behead you now! Can you _not see_ that the bullshit you spout isn't wanted here? How about you take you and your sorry ass back to the fucking Kou Empire and spout your bullshit at them, eh? I like that idea," she answered, her voice dropping dangerously low.

"Calm down, Tet, he's not worth wasting your breath on. Even so, Banker, we want this country to have a form of one with no disparities," commented Alibaba. He did not want Tettia to waste any of her precious breath on Markkio — that man was obviously there just to screw up things in the country, and he was desperate to continue doing what he did best.

Looking at the blond, the bitter crimson gaze melted away and was replaced by tenderness. "A-Ali…" she muttered. Nobody had ever said that to her before, well besides Aladdin; however, when Alibaba said it, the half-Fanalis knew there was traces of a certain emotion. That said emotion had Tettia blushing ever-so slightly.

Sinbad smirked as he noticed his _wife_ 's slight blush and, regardless of the fact that he had not caused her to blush, pulled the red-head close to him. He moved his hand from her hair to her waist, soon wrapping the other one around her waist as well. The king smiled to himself as he saw Alibaba throwing such a deadly glare at him, he was glad looks could not kill. To take things another step further, Sinbad leaned his head on Tettia's shoulder. "I love you so much, Tettia~" he cooed gently near Tettia's ear. Not only did he do that near her ear, Sinbad spoke loud enough for Tettia — and _especially_ Alibaba — to hear _exactly_ what he had said. Another thing to add to it all was that Sinbad, practically for the first time, said his young wife's full name to emphasize how _serious_ he was. After all, it was Tettia's plan to make Alibaba incredibly jealous, was it not? Might as well fully commit to the prank.

Both the king's sudden announcement of his love for her and having his arms wrapped around her waist had Tettia's subtle blush amped up to the point where her face was tomato red. "S-Sin…bad…?" she quietly questioned. _RIGHT! He must be amping up the game!_ thought Tettia to herself. After a brief recollection of herself, she stuttered out, still slightly embarrassed by his proclamation, "I love you so much more, Sinny~!" Tettia also put her hands on top of his.

Sinbad moved one of his hands to tangle his fingers with hers as he held her waist. He smiled goofily and kissed Tettia's cheek. "I doubt you could love me more than I love you, my sweet," he said.

"Oh, but I can, gorgeous," retorted Tettia.

Sinbad rolled his eyes playfully, squeezing Tettia close to him. "Whatever you say, beautiful," he spoke sweetly.

Looking out the window, a soldier exclaimed, "Prince Alibaba! The masses have returned and are forcing their way in… we will not be able to hold them in much longer!"

Tearing his irritated and envious honey gaze from the _married couple_ , Alibaba spoke, "We can't just idle around here! Move quickly, prepare arrangements for the announcement to the people!"

"WHAT DID YOU DO, JA'FAR?!" asked Tora, "If you hurt Aladdin, Tet's gonna kill you!"

Ja'far looked at the purplenette and replied, "I didn't _do_ anything to him, Tora! The Rukh around him is acting strange!"

The Rukh gathered more, then suddenly, it flew away. Tora looked up and cocked her head in confusion. "It just… flew the hell away…?!" After saying that, Tora looked at the white-haired man.

"Don't look at me, Tora, I am just as confused as you are," he said, putting his hands up.

Alibaba and Sahbmad addressed the people, telling them what they are doing to the monarchy and what will happen to the government. The people were quite shocked at the proclamation and as well as lost. "Republicanism… we'll become… a country without a king…" someone mumbled.

"You may be hesitant because this is so sudden. Republicanism is that we will govern our own country… but that is already what all of you here have been doing," Alibaba said, addressing the people. "In this declining country, heavy taxation, poverty, pressure; you have been fighting against many different things, in your families, your own territories, protecting them till today, you are your own governors. Isn't that right, now that you are all still here? Also, those royalty and nobility that have put you in these times of affliction are already gone… this place may be struck with war, chaos and disaster, or any other things… but when that happens, let's all get together and think of a way out. Even if there are times when we cannot find an answer, I will choose to think of a way to let you and your families live happily. Have courage!"

Tettia looked at the blond with amazement, "That's amazing, look at how he is moving his people." Sinbad nodded at her statement.

"Everyone take a firm step, and live in this land! That is the new form of Balbadd!"

The people smiled softly as they repeated, "The republic… of Balbadd." Then they all exclaimed in agreement.

Slowly clapping in her head, Tettia looked respectfully at the young blond prince. _Well done, Ali… well done_ , she thought to herself, leaning against Sinbad.

Ja'far and Tora stepped close to Aladdin, the former putting a hand on the young Magi's shoulder and lightly shaking it. "Aladdin?" he questioned.

Aladdin did not respond. "What the hell happened? Ja'far, don't tell me…" muttered Tora. "He can't be, Tet will be devastated!"  
***

What nobody knew was that Cassim was marching towards the palace, his army enveloped in Black Rukh. As the crowd was chanting in celebration, people towards the back of the crowd looked behind them to see unfriendly looking characters approaching the crowd. Those unsavory people were being led by Cassim. "H-hey… those guys…" mumbled an old man to a younger man.

"Yeah…" the younger man mumbled back. Stepping towards the unsavory group, the young man said, "Hold it! If you guys are going to barge into the royal palace, there's no more need for that!" The group led by Cassim glared dangerously at the man as they neared him. "Hey… hey!" he exclaimed. Cassim and his army stopped and looked at the young man. "Listen, this country has been reborn! Balbadd has become a country without a king! We just ended the monarchy and created a country meant for the citizens, Prince Alibaba said so!"

Cassim looked shocked, his golden eyes widened. "Oh… the end of monarchy… with that, the reason you are barging into the palace has disappeared, right? What will you do?" asked a mysterious man.

"I wonder…" muttered Cassim.

The people continued to chant. Everyone behind the blond looked on in happiness and relief. Sahbmad's eyes teared up as he said, "I wouldn't have imagined the country reaching a state like that!"

 _The people's faces have changed a lot from when I just returned to this country and now. What a relief! I will never forget the scene I am seeing today…! For this to continue forever, I'll keep it in my heart!_ thought a teary-eyed Alibaba as he burned the image into his brain. However, a sudden attitude presence was felt and everyone behind the blond grew shocked. _So you've come. Cassim!_

Cassim and his army stood off to the side of the happy crowd. All of his followers held weapons in their hands. Looking up at Alibaba, Cassim thought to himself, _So this is the conclusion you have come to, Alibaba. You really are a great person. All the things you said back then that I thought were just words, you really made them into reality. You were already like this back then. A stubborn man who accomplished things you thought right, for others. That's why I… always felt suffocated by you. And now, for the sake of the country… for the sake of stopping me… this is the answer that you came up with; however…_

"What is going to happen?" murmured someone. "The both of them were from the Fog Troupe, right?" murmured another.

Taking in a breath, Cassim spoke, "I heard… that Balbadd is going to become a republic. And so, the country that was with a king, will be evenly divided among the citizens of the country…" As he trailed off, Alibaba and Tettia looked down with hopeful smiles. "But, putting it that way, aren't you just cheating us?" Oh that made the blond and red-head's wishful smiles turn quickly into gasps of disbelief.

 _I know Cassim isn't gonna do this,_ thought the half-Fanalis to herself, clenching her fists by her sides.

"This land will be divided and given to the people? Every bit of this country, is build from the blood and sweat of the citizens… doesn't that mean that the country was ours to begin with…? Whose idea was it for us to be swallowed up by a useless government…? Don't you remember? Those days when everything was stolen from us during the heavy taxation… we had no food, our parents died… siblings as well. What republic? The dead won't come back! If the monarchy disappears, does that also mean that the sins of the royalty disappear with it? There's no way it could disappear! As I thought, the royalty and those related are all enemies who we have to cut down!" exclaimed Cassim, pointing his blade up at the royals.

That was when the wonderful mood turned dark, quickly. "Yes…" some said. "That's right…" more said. "Even if Balbadd subscribes to republicanism, my daughter won't return," said a woman. "My little sister…" said a man. "Even so, _equality_ , now…? That's strange…!" they exclaimed.

Tettia gritted her teeth and hung her body out over the edge as she screamed, "CASSIM! Just what in the ever-loving hell do you think you're doing, huh?! You think you can waltz in here and poison the wonderful mood?! Well, go fuck yourself! How dare you even think about coming back here just to start trouble like you always do!"

Cassim glared harshly at Tettia, who was glaring equally as harshly back. "Let's punish the royalty, nobility and the army — the ones who stole our country from us!" he yelled.

Lurching forward, the crowd yelled a battlecry as they ran towards the palace gates. Meanwhile, Zaynab was using her Scarlet Fog. "Isn't that enough? Even without the red fog, fate has already started reversing," said the mysterious man.

"I'm gonna kill that prick!" yelled Tettia, who was ready to jump down from the wall to fight Cassim. Everyone was unaware of the looming Black Rukh, despite it being clearly seen.

"Aladdin… Aladdin!?" exclaimed Ja'far and Tora, trying to shake him awake.

"He is dead, isn't he?" asked a woman.

Tora looked up from Aladdin. "Don't you _dare_ say that," she hissed. "He will wake up… he has to…" As they gathered around him, Aladdin's color came back to his face. It was as if the life had been breathed into him again, giving him a second chance. Tora sighed heavily, visibly relieved. "Thank goodness, the damn color's coming back to his face," she exclaimed, gently ruffling his blue bangs.

Ja'far casted his obsidian gaze towards the woman and spoke, "We leave the rest to you, we three must go. I can't ignore the rebellion that Sin and the others are facing! Let's head to the royal palace Masrur, Tora!"

Tora nodded, completely forgetting about the metal vessels she retrieved. "Hell yeah! Let's go," she exclaimed, punching the air.

"Understood," replied Masrur.

"Kill them all! The palace's royal family, bureaucracy, army and, of course, this city's nobility and powerful families!" yelled Cassim as he led his army into the palace, hurting people.

Morgiana ran into a room where Sinbad and Tettia were helping by tending to the wounded. "We have a huge problem. Terrible chaos is beginning to spread outside the palace! What should we do…?" she asked hysterically.

The purple-haired king hissed through gritted teeth, "Damn it… just what is happening!"

Tettia replied, "Fucking Cassim… I'm gonna beat the shit outta him!"

Soldiers ran in, saying, "Deputy King! Give the army instructions to attack! Although the enemy may be a rebel army of civilians, as of not, it's war! The plaza and streets are filled with casualties! The rebels have already penetrated the royal palace! If we don't attack them in their center, the country will be destroyed! Please give us your orders!"

Sahbmad looked at Alibaba and asked, "What should we do, Alibaba?"

"Can half of the army head for the main gate and try to hold back the rebelling citizens to gain time? The rest should suppress those that have already invaded the palace. Sahbmad and those that are injured should take shelter in the inner sanctuary… I'll head to the location of the enemy's boss. I'll stop Cassim…" spoke a serious Alibaba.

Tettia shot up. "I'm going with you," she proclaimed.

Turning his serious honey gaze towards the older red-head, the young prince spoke, "No, Tettia. This is my battle."

"No! It's not! I am going with you and there's not a damn thing you can say to change my mind! You're stuck with me, Alibaba, you've known this since we left Amon's dungeon," Tettia said, just as serious, if not more-so than the blond prince.

Alibaba sighed, knowing an argument with Tettia was unnecessary and full-well knowing she would do whatever she wanted anyways. "Fine… you can come too, Tet," he gave in.

"Good! Now let's go," she exclaimed.

Cassim and his main forces walked into the main plaza of the palace. "The army is foolish; it's only been ten minutes," said Zaynab.

"With just us, we can head to the inner sanctuary…" spoke Hassan.

Stopping, Cassim said, "No… it's here." Something descended upon them and surrounded them. As the smoke cleared, Alibaba was putting up his knife, while Tettia stood with her twin daggers tightly clenched in her fists. Cassim looked at the two former members of his Fog Troupe and snickered, "Hey Alibaba, Tettia, what's up? Your faces don't look too good."

"Cassim… what are you doing?" the duo said in unison. "The monarchy ended, there's no need to shed any more blood," said Alibaba. "Yet… yet you come here and start a damn war?! WHY!" exclaimed Tettia. Cassim nonchalantly looked away from the duo, which infuriated them. "ANSWER US CASSIM!" they called in unison.

Smiling and activating his weapon, Cassim spoke, "You too… what are you both doing? Alibaba, Tettia… a country of equality with no king…? Such a thing… when did I wish for that?"

The fight was on, Cassim and his army attacked first, Tettia and Alibaba jumping out of the way. Alibaba summoned Amon's flames to negate the Fog Swords. As he dispersed the fogs, Zaynab hit the duo with her red fog — causing their visions to become warped. "… Hey, Alibaba, Tettia… don't you two think… children of the royal family should live like royalty?" asked Cassim with a evil snicker, lighting a cigar. "And a brat from the slums… should live their whole life in the slums…"

The two men beside Cassim used his binding black fog to capture Alibaba and Tettia. "What self-righteous bullshit are you selling, Cassim," hissed Tettia, who was still weak from earlier and could not break free from the black fog.

Stepping forward, the young enemy continued, "I… don't think that. Everyone's the same human being. That's why… anyone has the qualifications to be king!" He gathered black fog around his sword, forming a large orb of darkness to loom above them. Cassim swung his sword, sending the orb of darkness at the duo.

Alibaba used his Djinn Equip to cut the orb down the middle, his lovely red-head companion holding onto his shoulders. As they landed in front of Cassim, Alibaba spoke, "Cassim… basically, you are saying that _you_ wanted to become king!"

"We won't allow anything else to be swallowed up by your selfish ambitions," exclaimed Tettia as she and Alibaba were in a fighting stance.

Cassim looked at Alibaba's sword as he asked in confusion, "What's with that sword!?"

"Keh… it doesn't matter what kind of sword you have! My corrosive fog will just melt it!" yelled Hassan as he lunged forward.

Having a brief shared look between honey-brown and crimson eyes, Alibaba charged at Hassan, cutting through the older man's sword. Hassan looked shocked as Alibaba quickly moved to render all other swords useless. The blond even broke Cassim's sword, and holding Amon's sword close to his neck, Alibaba stood victorious thus far. "Draw back your troops, Cassim! We _will_ make you draw back with all out strength," exclaimed the duo, the red-head coming to stand beside the blond. By her side, all the swords fell to the floor, Tettia had disarmed the troops around them despite their swords being useless.

"Prince Alibaba and Miss Tettia have completely suppressed the enemy inside the royal palace," exclaimed a soldier.

Sinbad looked down at his wife and the blond prince. _Alibaba successfully materialized his Djinn Equipment weapon! Of course, unless that man withdraws his troops, there's no way to end this rebellion_ , thought the king to himself.

Cassim looked up at Alibaba, stood up and walked towards the duo — mainly Alibaba. "Alibaba, I'm not going to do something like that with my troops. If you want them to withdraw… I would rather die! I've decided this long ago; you should've also been prepared." He kept walking closer to Alibaba. "So, do it. _Do_ it _. Do it_!" exclaimed Cassim as he pressed his throat against Amon's searing hot blade, burning his neck. "I'm telling you to kill me, Alibaba!"

Tettia was shocked and she stuttered, "C-Cassim… you! WHAT THE HELL?!" She knew that Alibaba could not do it: he could not kill his childhood friend and adoptive brother. If she had no heart, she would have killed him right then and there; however, Tettia did have a heart, one that was filled with so much of a certain emotion towards the blond that it prevented her from killing the rebel.

Soldiers conversed from behind the duo. "Although he's been capture, he still won't pull out his troops," one said. "Then, there's no benefit to stopping him. At least by killing their leader, the morale of his men will break…!" exclaimed another.

Turning to the soldiers, Tettia hissed, "You all are terrible! That man is like Ali's brother! You think this is an easy decision?! No — it is not!"

"Damn it!" yelled a frustrated Alibaba, he darted by Cassim, his Djinn Equip faded. Tettia's heart tightened as she ran over to Alibaba. "As if I could do that, you idiot! Cassim…! Withdraw your troops! If we stop this right now, the rebellion will end! Then, who knows how you will be treated, so…" said a shaking blond.

Cassim smiled. "You're… really soft… Alibaba. You think so too, right? Anyways, I'm gonna surrender here so… see ya. See ya, too, Tet," he said, patting both their backs as he passed.

Whipping her head around, Tettia looked on in confusion as Cassim was surrounded by spears and a soldier shouting, "Arrest the rebellion's ringleader!"

"Something's not right here…" muttered the red-head.

"It'll be fine if you don't obey. Even if you aren't here, your corpse will stop the rebellion," exclaimed a soldier. Everyone looked on and the tension was thick. Zaynab cried out for Cassim.

The young enemy looked back at her and smiled. _I don't have a choice_ , he thought to himself. Taking a deep breath, Cassim ran himself through the heart with his sword. Everyone gasped in utter shock, Alibaba looking the most shocked.

"What in the hell is he thinking?!" yelled a confused Tettia, who was more worried about the blond.

"Watch… people from the slums… citizens, nobles, royalty… _everyone_ … this is the proof of obtaining hidden power!" exclaimed Cassim, holding his blood-soaked sword to the sky. Blood poured from the self-inflicted wound and also trickled from the corner of his lip. "Assemble! Everything return!" called Cassim, the broken weapons of his troops were attracted to his sword.

From above, someone spoke, "As I thought… because all of that guy's blood — his life — is flowing out… drawn towards the sacrifice, the household vessels are assembling at one point… to the owner of the _Black Vessel_."

The fragments plunged themselves into Cassim's body and he was slowly being transformed. Transformed into a huge black dragon. "Ridiculous… that's impossible…!" exclaimed Sinbad through gritted teeth.

Groaning, Tettia replied, "Well fuck us with a cactus…!"

The Dark Djinn roared and everyone looked at it in absolute horror. "What is that!?" asked a hysteric Alibaba.

Tettia looked at Sinbad with horror overflowing her crimson gaze. "S-sinny! I-is that a fucking Djinn?!" she asked hysterically.

"Yeah! It is, unfortunately!" replied the king.

Dark Djinn Cassim unleashed an attack of dark orbs. Tettia jumped around, saving people; Morgiana did the same thing. When the two Fanalis's noticed Alibaba frozen in fear, they exclaimed, "Please get ahold of yourself Alibaba! As it is, everyone will get crushed! Alibaba!"

Alibaba stood there, looking at the Djinn that could or could not be Cassim. _Could that be… Cassim_ , thought the blond to himself. The monster looked at Ahbmad and Sahbmad, taking notice in them; it bolted towards them. Tettia and Morgiana looked at each other. "Throw me, Morg," demanded the older half-Fanalis. Hesitantly, Morgiana nodded and threw Tettia at the monster. Just before it could unleash an attack, Tettia spiked it down to the ground. "Ali! Quickly! Please kill that thing with Amon's sword," exclaimed Tettia as she fell through the air.

"Are you Cassim!?" asked Alibaba.

Quickly falling to the ground, Tettia face-palmed as soon as her feet touched the ground. "Boy! That is not what I said, now was it? NO! I SAID KILL THE DAMN THING QUICKLY!"

"I wanna know!" exclaimed Alibaba looking at Tettia. As soon as he looked away, the monster tried to attack him, Tettia screamed at him to look back. Quickly activating his Djinn Equip, Alibaba sliced through the Djinn. "Did I get it!?"

The Djinn fell to the ground. "It stopped flying but, it's still alive! Once more Ali!" Tettia exclaimed.

"Yes! Once more Alibaba!" exclaimed Morgiana, who ran beside Tettia.

Alibaba nodded and as he was getting ready to swing again, a wave of Black Rukh came over the wall. "What the!?" exclaimed a confused Alibaba and Tettia as the Djinn began to regenerate the body part it lost.

Everyone watched in subsequent horror as the Djinn started to absorb the Black Rukh, growing bigger in size. Morgiana lunged at the Djinn with the intent on attacking it; however, the Djinn counterattacked Morgiana, sending her flying away, into the slums. "MORG!" yelled a worried Tettia.

The Djinn gathered a large amount of darkness and was ready to attack the former king. Until Sinbad jumped onto its back. "S-sinbad?!" exclaimed Alibaba and Tettia.

Sinbad did something which successfully diminished the black orb. The action caused the king to cough up blood. "Alibaba, I'll hold him down. Finish him off then! Only your sword can do it! This thing… has a will. It will massacre this country's royalty and those that were affiliated with the monarchy. This is the will of revolution… we cannot allow that to happen! A revolution built on blood, while there is justification for everyone violent action since the world began… people repeat bloody revolutions. Balbadd is falling down that path…! The only one who can save this country, the only one who can create a bloodless revolution is you! Alibaba," exclaimed Sinbad.

Tettia looked at her _husband_ and sighed, "Is it bad that he is _insanely_ attractive like that?" Alibaba was grasping Amon's sword tightly. "ALI, KILL HIM!" she exclaimed. Alibaba lunged towards the disabled Djinn with the intent to end that rebellion once and for all.

* * *

 **A/N: This one was shorter because I skipped the chapter where Laddin was with Ugo.**


	17. Saving a Country and a Friend

**Chapter Seventeen: Saving a Country and a Friend**

* * *

Sinbad was still on top of the rampaging Dark Djinn Cassim had become, stopping it from continuing its rampage. "Alibaba! Do it now!" yelled both Tettia and Sinbad.

Alibaba lunged at the Dark Djinn to stabbed it. "He did it! Prince Alibaba did it!" exclaimed a soldier. Unfortunately, Amon's sword had not made contact with the creature. Tettia frowned and added, "No… not yet! His sword didn't land a blow! The black particles had avoided the attack! Basically, Ali's sword is being repelled by a strong force!"

"Amon… give me strength… or else it'll be too late! Bestow upon me the power to pierce everything!" muttered Alibaba to himself as his Djinn Equip evolved.

The king and his _queen_ gasped as they noticed that. "The Djinn Equip evolved!?" they yelled in surprise, looking at one another.

Breaking through the strong force that repelled the sword, Alibaba disintegrated some of the Dark Djinn and saw Cassim in the center. "Ali…baba…?" asked Cassim.

At the sight of his friend, Alibaba hesitated, which gave the Dark Djinn enough time to send the young blond prince flying into a nearby yet far off wall. Tettia groaned and Sinbad gasped, "Alibaba!" they exclaimed, for two completely different reasons.

That was when the Dark Djinn grabbed Sinbad and threw him at Alibaba; Tettia was quick to act, Morgiana was about to catch Sinbad, but Tettia shoved her out of the way. "No, I got this Morg! Sorry for pushing you!" she exclaimed. Sinbad looked up at Tettia, gritting his teeth; looking down at her husband, the half-Fanalis smiled and asked sweetly, "Hey handsome, you alright?"

"I'm not entirely okay, but, I can say that I am better since I was caught by you, Tet," he said with a weak chuckle.

Tettia rolled her eyes and said, "I had to catch you because you fell for me too hard, you twit."

Alibaba was surprised once again at Tettia's amazing speed. "Tettia…! Morgiana…! That guy can use strange techniques… that either attracts or repels people!"

"It's gravity magic… he uses a repulsion force to repel things. A repulsion force so strong that he can't be touched…" said Sinbad, trying to sit up.

Tettia gently lifted him up. "Don't push yourself too much, you attractive dork. I can't have my husband dying on me, can I?" she asked, smiling.

Chuckling, Sinbad replied to his lovely little wife, "You're right, you can't go losing me, Tet. Where would you be without me?"

"Utterly lost," she crisply replied, ruffling his hair.

Alibaba rolled his eyes and focused on the Dark Djinn. "A _repulsion_ force…!?" he hissed.

" _What should I do…? If I can't touch it, then Amon's sword can't cut through it either_. Is that what you're thinking, Ali?" asked a giggling Tettia.

Sinbad pointed to the creature, as he said, "But, take a look! Magoi is leaking out… it's intervening with the recovery. The previous attack was effective… Alibaba, concentrate all of your power into one attack. If you can use a power stronger than that of the previous one… it will _definitely_ pierce through!"

Alibaba started pumping his Magoi into Amon's sword. As he was doing that, the Dark Djinn took notice of Alibaba and his actions and used his gravity to pull the prince to him. "Shit! Ali!" exclaimed Tettia, reaching out for the blond.

The creature started to charge a black energy ball. _Damn…! Just a little more… the power isn't fully charged yet…_ he thought to himself, anxiously waiting for his power to be charged. With what he thought was certain death in his wake, Alibaba squeezed his eyes closed, readying himself for the worst. However, when he did not feel death, he opened his honey brown eyes to see the military.

"Everyone, attack at once! Don't let that monster advance!" yelled Sahbmad.

"Thirteenth squad, attack! Twenty-fourth squad, disperse to the left!" yelled Barkak. The military lunged at the creature and everyone looked on in horror, expecting them to get killed.

Tettia ruffled her hair in frustration, "WHAT ARE THEY DOING?!"

"Everyone, don't be reckless!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Having been leaned against the wall, Sinbad pointed, "No, look! It's effective!"

The queen of Sindria looked at the military, which surprisingly keeping the Dark Djinn at bay. "Holy fuck, it is working!"

"He stopped. Now's our chance…!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Tettia and Sinbad noticed the blond prince was not concentrating enough power into Amon's sword. "This won't do! You have to concentrate even more power into the sword!" they said together.

Alibaba gasped in disbelief. "Concentrate… even more than this…!?"

Sinbad and Tettia reached out and touched Amon's sword, both looking at Alibaba as they said, "We'll help too." They started to concentrate power into Amon's sword.

 _Everyone…! I'll use this one attack, to end it all!_ thought Alibaba as he lunged towards the creature. Before he could land the possible final blow, Judar showed up and stopped him. The black-haired older Magi sent Alibaba flying towards the ground.

"GODDAMMIT JUDAR! SERIOUSLY?!" yelled Tettia as she caught Alibaba mid-air. Sinbad looked at Judar in surprise, while Tettia tried to burn holes through his body with her incredibly irritated gaze. "I am going to kill him one day," she growled.

Sinbad looked at his wife and rubbed her arm comfortingly. "No, please don't. Even though, yes, he is a major obstacle, he could be of use to us later… should he join us," he said.

"He's attacked Alibaba twice now and hasn't held back in each of those attacks," she hissed.

Judar narrowed his eyes at them all. "Hey… is this fine?" he asked almost irritatedly.

Markkio replied quickly, semi-apologetically, "Yes, sorry for troubling you when you've just recovered from your wounds, Magi."

Sighing in what appeared to be either irritation or disappointment, Judar said, "Is there any _worth_ in killing that kind of guy?"

"He has already interfered with our _flow_ many times. Futhermore, I reckon he'll become a troublesome existence in the future… that's why it's better to get rid of him now," explained Markkio.

Tettia growled and stood in front of everyone (Sinbad, Alibaba and Morgiana) and growled out dangerously, "You want him, punk? You're gonna hafta kill my stubborn ass first!"

Judar seemed to ignore her. "Compared to that, what's going on…? I feel like I'm overflowing with power…"

"You have a body that went through depravity. The Black Rukh in the surroundings will naturally add to your strength…"

Having heard that, Tettia groaned loudly and said with Alibaba had been thinking quietly, "This is just the worst…! Just fuck me… that attack messed up Ali, which led to his Magoi being utterly depleted and the release of his highly concentrated Djinn Equip. _Just. fuck. me._ What should we do?"

Members of the Fog Troupe, loyal to only Cassim were attacking the people of Balbadd, killing some. "Die, pigs of the royalties!"

Wires wrapped around a man about to attack a young lady. Then, Tora kicked the man in the face, screaming, "You fucking scum! Attacking your own fucking people! What the fuck is your damn problem?!"

Masrur had an armful of quite a few people and he asked the white-haired man, "Are you okay with not going to the palace?"

"Well… we can't just ignore it… this kind of situation!" He looked at a young girl crying over her mother's dead body. "But, how is Sin going to fight against that monster in the palace without his metal vessels… damn, what can I do…!?"

Tora stopped beating the bad guys and looked at Ja'far, "Oh… I got his metal vessels back from the thieves who took them… I left them back at the base, though."

"What the hell are you doing here then?! Go get them and take them to Sin!" exclaimed Ja'far.

Tora nodded. "Right! Be safe you two. Gotta go!" she exclaimed as she ran off towards the base. As she reached the base, she noticed something was off, she went to grab Sinbad's metal vessels, then went to check on Aladdin. Opening the door, she noticed he was not in the room. "He's back! Tet is gonna be so fucking happy! Now, I must go!" she exclaimed and then ran off, towards the palace.

Aladdin was flying as fast as he could towards the palace. There were people there that needed him, especially a certain half-Fanalis. She needed to know that he was back to normal, that he was perfectly fine. "I'm coming, Tet…" he muttered to himself.

Markkio looked at the dark creature and said, "Judar, just like you, he is a Djinn who is entrusted with Black Rukh. Use your power to control him. That way, he'll become your servant!"

Judar smiled, "Quickly become mine already!" He used his powers and lo-and-behold, the dark Djinn became his. "Hmm… I see…" he said.

Sinbad looked up at Judar and thought, _Damn… this is the worst… but, I've got to do something!_ He slowly started to raise his right hand and Judar saw this.

"Rain of Ice Spears!" he exclaimed.

"What?!" Sinbad gasped as ice spears punctured his body. The ice bound him to the wall, rendering him immobile.

Tettia's eyes widened and she gasped, "Sinny!"

"Behave, Sinbad… don't worry, I won't kill you… I'll make you mine later, too," said Judar.

Sputtering and choking on her spit, Tettia exclaimed, "The fuck you will, bastard! Sinny is mine!" Tettia's little retort had Sinbad smiling briefly.

Judar ignored her once again and pointed at Alibaba. "Now… it's finally time to kill you!"

Alibaba looked at Judar with shock. The older Magi shot ice spears at Alibaba. Morgiana and Tettia shared a gaze and the latter grabbed Alibaba, bobbing and weaving through the ice spears. "Hey, Ali, not to seem like a bitch… but, I can only dodge this forever…" she said.

Alibaba laughed at her statement. "You're not a bitch because of that statement. But, hey, can you throw me up there? I still have enough power to make an attack like before… I'll use this power to finish him off."

Tettia laughed, combing her hand through her hair. "You're a fucking dork. The situation is worse than before. The number of enemies have increased and the damn demon has already recovered from its injury. But, I see the look in your eyes, Ali…"

"Yeah. Then I guess I just have to use a power even stronger than before. Sinbad said it before… as long as I don't _'exhaust the Magoi in within my body'_ , I'll be able to do it!"

Tettia smirked, "I'll fucking kill you if you die, know that, Alibaba."

"I know," he simply replied. He activated his Djinn Equip and Tettia threw him up into the air.

"Heh… it's Djinn Equipment. Gravity magic infused with the Magoi from the demon and me… do you think you can beat this?!" yelled Judar, his creature formed a sword of some kind.

Alibaba's Djinn Equip clashed with the creature's sword, however, the creature was distorting Amon's sword.

"Hey! Just break already!" exclaimed Judar.

"Amon!" yelled Alibaba. His sword cracked under the pressure and broke.

Tettia gasped, "We're fucked now…" Alibaba dropped from the sky like a rock. She ran towards him, "Shit! Alibaba!"

"The prince's sword…" a soldier said, "is already…"

As Tettia neared him, Alibaba said, "One more time, Tet."

Smiling, she put her hands on her hips, "You sure, lover boy?"

"DO IT!" he exclaimed.

Tettia laughed and picked him up once again. "I get'cha, I'm goin," she said, throwing him again. He failed once again, and as he laid on the ground, Judar launched another attack at him, and just as Tettia was about to jump in and take the attack, a large beam of light came down and stopped the attack.

"Really, you're such a strange person. But because that is who you are, I want to be of help to you… and so does Tet… so I'll stretch out my hand to you, no matter how many times…" said the young bluenette, holding his hand out to the blond on the ground. "Hey, Alibaba."

Tettia squealed loudly as she attacked the young bluenette with a gigantic hug — which actually knocked them down. "OH MY GOD! LADDIN! YOU'RE ALIVE AND BACK!" she cried out, nuzzling her face against his.

Aladdin laughed cutely and promptly hugged Tettia back. "Yeah, I'm back. Sorry for worrying you, Tet…" he said.

"You're damn right you're sorry! You can't leave your sister/best friend like that, boy!" she exclaimed, not wanting to let him go.

"Now, let go of me? So we can fight?" asked Aladdin cutely.

Standing up and bringing him with her, Tettia kissed his cheek. "You have a point. I want you to kick Judar's butt while I help out my husband!" Aladdin laughed.

Judar smiled almost sadistically. "Ha… you have finally arrived… I've been waiting for you! Let me say this, Chibi… I won't lose this time… because I've attained a Djinn, too! Ok, call out your Djinn now!" exclaimed Judar.

Tettia immediantly set her gaze on Sinbad, she walked towards him. "Hey, hot-stuff, need some help," she asked with a smile.

"Judar is right, if it's Aladdin's Djinn, it can definitely match up to him and his Djinn," he said.

Nodding, Tettia said, "Yeah…"

"Call it out now!" taunted Judar. He launched an attack at the young Magi, who blocked it with a barrier. "Hmph… a barrier that defends against attacks with malice… isn't it normal for a Magi to be able to do that? Just let out your Djinn now and fight me!"

Aladdin turned away from the older bratty Magi, and walked towards Tettia and Sinbad; the former trying to free the latter. "Mister Sinbad, are you alright? I see that Tet is trying to help you out there."

"Ah, yeah, I'm fine. Also, yes, Tet is trying," he laughed. "Aladdin! The only person left who can match up to them is your Djinn!"

"Are you talking about Ugo? If you're talking about him… he's… not here anymore," said Aladdin, looking sad almost.

Tettia gasped and hugged the young Magi again. "I'm so sorry, Laddin."

"It's fine. I may not have Ugo anymore, but I do still have you. Also, it's not like Ugo is completely gone," he said with a smile.

"Aren't you sweet~!" gushed Tettia, who went back to trying to get Sinbad off the wall.

"Not here? What do you mean…?" asked Judar.

Tettia huffed and looked at Judar, her hands on her hips. "What he means, you fucking dick, is that that little bratty bitch of a princess that came to save you fucking killed Ugo. Congrats, now I will attempt to destroy all of you," she yelled angrily.

Judar sighed, "Without a Djinn you're just a normal brat. Die."

The older Magi launched an attack at the younger Magi. However, Aladdin protected himself with the help of the Rukh. Moreover, something began to form in the imagine of Ugo. Tettia and Sinbad gasped, the former exclaiming, "Ugo?!"

Markkio was a bit confused, mayhap. "Could that be! Djinn materialization!? Could he… possibly have _attained_ that!?" he exclaimed.

"Ah? What the… although it bears the appearance of that giant… that's… just purely heat magic!" exclaimed a more-or-less surprised Judar.

Sinbad looked at his _wife_ and asked, "Heat magic?! Aladdin learned how to use magic!?"

Shrugging, Tettia replied, "Don't ask me that, Sinny."

Aladdin heard them and said to them, "Actually, I knew how to use magic all along… whenever Ugo used my Magoi to use magic, he let me practice through the flute. To ensure that I'll be able to use magic in the future."

"I'mma miss that big oaf," said Tettia.

"You're such a boring brat, just die already!" exclaimed Judar.

Aladdin raised his hands and attacked Judar with magic. Apparently powerful magic, as it sent the older Magi away. Also, it melted the ice Tettia was trying to remove, making her fall into Sinbad's lap. "And I got a face-full of Sinny crotch," laughed Tettia as she sat up.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it," laughed Sinbad, pulling her into his lap.

Tettia laughed and punched his arm. "That is not appropriate talk for us being in the middle of a fucking rebellion, Sinny!" she exclaimed with another laugh.

"Mister Sinbad, are you alright?" Aladdin asked.

"Yeah!" he replied.

It was at that exact moment that Tora busted through the wall. "WHERE THE _FUCK_ IS KING MORON?!" she yelled, carrying all of his metal vessels. She casted her pinkish-red eyes towards Tettia, only to see her on Sinbad's lap. Sighing heavily, she shifted the metal vessels to one hand so she could pinch the bridge of her nose, "I am gone for a little bit and you guys get hurt and are being even more lovely than before? God… take your bullshit, King Moron. I'm tired of holding it." Then Tora threw all of Sinbad's metal vessels.

"Oh, you got them back for me?" he asked.

"Fuck you. I didn't get them back for you, fucker. I did it so Ja'far and Massy can activate their household vessels, you dunce," she said.

Tettia laughed and stood up. "You gonna stay and fight?"

"I wish I could, but I have to get back to my husband! I gotta go."

"Okay, be safe and try not to kill too many people," laughed Tettia.

Tora laughed, "No promises!" And with that, she left to fight along side her husband and Ja'far.

"I can't beat him," said Aladdin, referring to Judar. "Because my magic is still incomplete… I can't win against him, no matter what I do." Alibaba and Tettia looked shocked, and Aladdin extended a hand to Alibaba. "Alibaba, Tet… I need your strength. If it's you, we can definitely defeat that guy and the Black Djinn!"

"I… I wish to do so, too…! But I've lost my sword… and I have no Magoi left… I can no longer fight…" said Alibaba.

Standing beside Aladdin, Tettia had her hands on her hips, a smile gracing her lips. "Ya know, that's not at all true, goofball," she said.

"Exactly as she says, here, take a closer look, Alibaba…" Aladdin said, placing a hand on his shoulders, Rukh becoming visible from a far off place in the city. "Everyone's hopes within their hearts," he said with a smile. Tettia smiling the same easy, sweet smile. "That's why we can still continue to fight!" the longterm best friends said in unison. Aladdin started to gather more magic around him. A eight-pointed star appeared on his head.

"What power did you unlock now, Laddin," asked Tettia, slinging her arm around his shoulders, glaring up at the enemy with the young Magi.

Aladdin called all of the Rukh over. "What was that just now…" asked Alibaba.

"Well, I made everyone come over, to guide you and your friend," said Aladdin with his friendly smile.

Alibaba gasped, "Eh?"

"Alibaba, that's your important friend, right?" asked Aladdin, pointing to the creature. Alibaba's face contorted in sadness. Aladdin saw this and continued, "He has completely fallen into the darkness now. You are the _only_ one who can save him."

"Use your sword to penetrate him and get rid of the darkness!" exclaimed Tettia, helping the blond up.

Alibaba hung his head almost in shame. "I want to do that, too… but the sword is already…"

"It's alright, Amon's sword can be restored! As long as we combine our strength! Scorching palms!" exclaimed Aladdin as he hurdled his attack at Alibaba.

Alibaba was frightened and exclaimed, "Hey…HEY Aladdin—!?" he was shocked to see flames. "Flames?!"

"Although this heat magic is the only magic I can use now, it's fortunate that your sword is a sword of flames! This, too, is surely not a coincidence!" exclaimed Aladdin as Amon's sword was seemingly regenerated.

The young prince looked shocked by that as he said, "Amon's sword… is restored…!"

"Now go!" yelled both Tettia and Aladdin.

Alibaba nodded and lunged towards Judar's Djinn for the umpteenth time. "As if I would let that happen!" he exclaimed, launching an attack at the blond. Amon's sword pierced right through Judar's magic and Alibaba finally landed a strike onto the Black Djinn. However, the results were terrible. Alibaba was swallowed up by the Black Djinn.

"Welp… there he goes… he'll be fine!" exclaimed Tettia, laughing at it.

Aladdin looked at Judar and through the power that was bestowed to him, he showed the older Magi his past. Aladdin made him feel things he never wanted to feel, it had Judar grasping at his hair frantically, screaming for him to stop that.

Alibaba was in a strange place inside the Black Djinn. "Where's this?" he asked.

 _This is the place inside the Black Djinn, Alibaba._

"…Aladdin!?" asked Alibaba.

 _Hey, Cassim should be there, too. Tell him up until the end, I still thought he was cute!_

"Tet? Really?" he asked in disbelief.

 _Aye, really. Bitch, don't question me and just do it!_

Alibaba sighed, "Fine." That was when he noticed Cassim. "Cassim?" he asked. "That's the form his Rukh has taken on…"

 _Alibaba, we'll make some time for you! So hurry, save him from the darkness!_

Turning towards Cassim, Alibaba said, "Cassim… one more time… I want to talk thing out with you… also, Tet wanted me to tell you she still found you cute."

"Alibaba, don't come over. I have nothing to say to you. Of course she would say that," he said.

Alibaba grabbed Cassim's left arm, exclaimed, "Cassim!"

"Don't come over. You should've realized already!" exclaimed Cassim, snatching his arm away from Alibaba. "I hate you most of all!" he growled. Alibaba looked shocked as Cassim continued viciously, "It's not like it just started now… I've always hated you! Ever since we were young!"

"Wha… what…!?" the blond prince exclaimed in surprise.

Cassim was young and said, "That time," then he was a teenager, "That time," then he turned into a young adult, "And that time! I've always…! I've wanted to push you into the abyss of despair! But no matter what I did, your radiance did not disappear! Damn it! Are we that different!? I'm the only one shrouded in darkness."

"Cassi—"

"Am I the only one… fated to be born as a human scum!?"

Alibaba looked horrified as he said, "Cassim… why would you say such things!?"

The older boy scoffed, "You'll never understand. The difference between us is too big."

The young prince was shocked at what his older adoptive brother had said. " _Difference_!?" he exclaimed, unbelievingly.

"That's right. From that time we lived together in the slums, we have been _completely_ different! Even after the death of your mother… you were the only one who wanted to lead a legitimate life! Why are we _so_ different!? Even though the place we were brought up is the same! Just when I was thinking about this… I suddenly learned that you were royalty… I understood, at that moment, that within you flows the blood of that kind-hearted mother _and_ royalty. Meanwhile, within myself… flows the blood of that damn father who isn't worthy of _anything_! Isn't this _too_ unfair!? A person's fate is already decided before birth! That's why I decided… if that is _fate_ … then I'll take revenge against _fate_ with these hands!" yelled Cassim, glowering harshly at his adoptive brother.

Being punctured by Cassim's tainted Rukh, Alibaba saw images of how Cassim saw him. _You were always the only one who lived in radiance! Always. Always. Always!_ Cassim's words rang in his ears. "…Wrong…" muttered Alibaba, clenching his fist and punching Cassim in the face. "You're _wrong_! I'm not such a noble person! When I was doing those things… I _never_ thought about the royal blood! I was just striving to survive every day! I had miserable days, too… I also did dirty things before… for a countless number of times, I felt that I was pathetic. Don't… just…" as he continued, pure Rukh flowed around him, "assume things and force them upon me!"

Outside, Tettia and Aladdin continued to fight Judar vigorously. Aladdin's barrier had been shattered by the older Magi's magic and Tettia grabbed the young Magi, dodging the attack. "Ali… hurry you goofball!" exclaimed Tettia.

Cassim and Alibaba were fighting. Black and White Rukh clashed. "I… don't want to lose to you!" yelled Cassim.

"Don't joke around with me! Whether it's winning or losing, there's no need for something like that! There's no need for something like that between us!" exclaimed Alibaba in retaliation.  
Cassim sighed and said, "That time when you said _'I'm no different from them!'_. It made me really happy… but just one because isn't enough… how can all humans be the same? Everyone is born individually. Capability, appearance, personality, race, blood lineage, and _class difference_ … to people like me who have nothing, the people at at the top always look so dazzling… and those dazzling people, we can from a corner of slums, look up, and only look up to them… until we die, cursing our of having nothing in life. All of these were obvious. You, too, could also see it when you were young, couldn't you? I just wanted to prove… that we can change this kind of fate… that everyone is the same. Regardless of who it is… that even a scum like me… can become completely different, someone sublime… someone to look up to!" His Rukh took the form of a _King Alibaba_. Alibaba was obviously confused. "Isn't that right!?" yelled Cassim as he stabbed Alibaba with his Rukh.

From Alibaba flowed more thoughts that made the older boy cry. _What is this? Flowing into my head…_ Cassim thought to himself as tears streamed down his face. He looked at Alibaba, who was also crying.

 _How frustrating… how pitiful… I didn't even realize… that Cassim was feeling like that… no, actually I may have realized it already. But afraid that he will point it out, about us being_ ** _different,_** _I have always been running away from that fact… it may be that everyone_ ** _different_** _… but I feel that that is… sorrowful. But… if that's true… what can I do to let everyone live in happiness…_ Alibaba thought to himself, crying still.

 _This guy… had started to think about it… this_ ** _difference_** _that can't be changed… and what to do to change it_ , thought Cassim. **_Sorrowful,_** _huh… I wonder if everything will be better if I accept that fact… no matter how many times I reach my hand out… we are two completely people and we can never be the same. Accepting the difference… even in different places… just living our lives the fullest is enough._ "But yet, all wanted was to stand on the same level as you…!" he sobbed out loud.

Aladdin and Tettia looked back at the Black Djinn, something happening with it. "Do you think he did it, Tet?" asked the bluenette.

"Maybe…?" questioned Tettia, looking back at the Djinn with fire in her eyes. "I fucking hope so… we can't stall Pissy-pants for much longer," she said. The Djinn began crumbling and Tettia was happy, yet was struck with sadness.

"What's happening!?" asked Alibaba.

"The Djinn… is crumbling," said Cassim.

Alibaba gasped and pointed at him. "Cassim!?"

Cassim was crumbling as well. "Looks like only I will disappear with the Djinn… don't worry, you can still alive!"

"What are you saying!? I came here to _save_ you!" exclaimed Alibaba, unbelieving that he has said that.

"Just that thought alone is… already enough. To those people who were dragged into this… I'm sorry. I can't compensate for anything… well, it's the same with you, this is the end… it's the last moment yet I can't think of anything to say… if only, we could have talked things out properly before…" said Cassim solemnly. "Hey… Alibaba… are we…"

"What're you saying Cassim!?" exclaimed Alibaba, running after him.

"Sorry! There's no time left to put it in words!" said the older boy said.

The prince was confused as something hit him. "What's going on…!?" He was injected with Cassim's Rukh. He saw what Cassim had done his whole life after Alibaba left for the palace. The young prince was moved to tears. Realization hit him as he realized what Cassim was about to ask him. "You idiot! Why did you ask this kind of question again!? Isn't it obvious!? We're…" cried out the blond, reaching out for Cassim. "Friends!"

Alibaba held Cassim's body, crying hysterically. Tettia and Aladdin looked at the blond as he sobbed. "Welcome back, Alibaba," they said together, the former running to hug the blond briefly. Alibaba cried louder and hugged Cassim closer to him. The Rukh of all those who died came back.

*** (Tettia and Sinbad left the palace shortly after)

Up in the sky, the banker was on a magic carpet. "The roots of hatred and sorrow are gradually being removed. Tch… it was a perfect country as a container to hold this high amount of darkness. Well, forget it. The only things destroyed were a new recruit and a household vessel. The original darkness is with me. I'll just for another black vessel again… one with a lot of hatred… since those are easier to control!" said the banker.

Tora laughed evilly, "Sorry, bastard, but this is it for you!" She came out of nowhere and drop kicked him. Masrur and Ja'far used their household vessels, which had Tettia squealing happily. Sinbad had Djinn Equipped and Tettia clapped childishly, squeaking happily once again.

"THE CALVARY IS HERE, MOTHERFUCKERS!" Tettia screamed.

Tora looked at her and smiled devilishly, "You're fucking right we are, bitch!"

Sinbad used his Djinn and exploded the Banker. After that, Sinbad fell, Ja'far and Tettia caught him. "You alright, Sinny?" asked Tettia.

"I'm fine. Their presence has been erased completely. There's no one left to cause uproar in this country anymore… it's already okay," said Sinbad. "I really hoped you could returned these to me earlier… Tora."

"Shut up, boy," she hissed.

Ja'far held Sinbad by his clothes, hissing, "Anyway, everything would have been much easier if you hadn't gotten metal vessels stolen in the first place!"

"But it was Tora's fault…" Sinbad muttered weakly.

Tora punched him, "Again, you fucking knew I wasn't gonna not watch that happen! Bitch, you were fucking drunk as fuck and it was hysterical to watch you get robbed."

"That hurts, Tora!" whined Sinbad. Tettia laughed. Suddenly, dolls fell from the sky.

"Sin…" Tettia, Tora and Ja'far said, glaring at the dolls.

Sinbad nodded and said, "Yeah… I won't say that our fight against them has ended here…"

"I'mma kill them when I see them!" yelled Tora, punching the air, _accidentally_ punching Sinbad in the arm.

The king doubled over and almost fell, if it had not been for Tettia, he would have fallen to the ground. "OW! Tora why?!" he asked in pain.

"Oops… I didn't mean to do that…"

"Wonder how things are at the palace?" asked Tettia.

Smiling and wrapping an arm around her waist, Sinbad said, "We should head back there anyways. So, let's go."

Tettia blushed but smiled. "Yeah! Let's go back."

Everyone chuckled and made their way back to the palace. When they reached the palace, Aladdin had used his _Wisdom of Solomon_ to bring the Rukh to everyone in order to see everyone. "Magi… really are amazing," said Sinbad as he looked at the young bluenette. Tettia stayed by Sinbad's side, smiling as Alibaba realized he had saved the whole country… including Cassim.

Aladdin let the Rukh go back home and afterwards, Tettia dashed towards the duo. "LADDIN! Ali!" she yelled as she attacked them both with a hug. "Hey, where's Morg?" she asked.

Morgiana appeared out of seemingly nowhere. "I'm here," she said.

"Where did you go, missy?!" asked a worried half-Fanalis, nuzzling the younger purebred Fanalis close to herself. Morgiana shrugged.

Tora stretched and cracked her back. "Now, can we go the fuck home now?" she asked.

"To Sindria?!" asked Tettia with starry eyes.

"No fucking shit. Of course to Sindria!" exclaimed Tora.

Tettia squealed, "Oh let's go home~!"

Sinbad smiled at their interaction. "You all can head home, and take Alibaba with you. I have to go to the Kou Empire to talk things over with the emperor… like I promised," he said. "But I will try to be home as soon as I can. Don't want to make my gorgeous queen wait too long for me, do I?" he added, pulling Tettia close and kissing her cheek.

Her husband's action had Tettia melting and blushing. "Hehe~" she gushed. "Y-yeah! Don't keep me waiting!"

"Hey! I'm not going with you!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Promptly, both Tora and Tettia looked at him, the former with a menacing glare. "Boy, you're coming home with us whether you like or not!" they both exclaimed. Alibaba had no choice, as he continued to argue, Tora knocked him out. "Okay, can we go _now_?! I have him subdued… Tet, you get to carry him to the boat," she said, throwing the unconscious blond's body at the half-Fanalis.

Tettia promptly caught Alibaba and sighed, "Yeah… I say we need to go." Everyone laughed and they headed towards the docks to get onto two separate boats.


	18. Sinbad's Back and More Jealousy!

**Chapter Eighteen: Sinbad's Back and More Jealousy!**

 **A/N: Marina and Sarabi are not my characters, they are my friend on Quotev's.**

* * *

The boat ride to Sindria had been quite long, yet interesting. Every time Alibaba would wake up, Tora would knock him right back out. Tettia had spent many nights just gazing at the moon, threatening to throw Ja'far overboard if he continued to call her admiration of the moon childish. Tora even went overboard for three days.

Tettia was with Ja'far, in the palace, when they got news that Sinbad had returned. She along with several of the Eight Generals and Tora were waiting for him inside the palace. "Yay! Sinny's back! I've been so lonely!" she exclaimed quietly.

As Sinbad walked into the palace, she noticed two men and two women following behind him. Everyone he passed lowered their ends in a respectful bow as they said things like "Your majesty" and "Our king has returned". Tettia, along with Ja'far and the generals said, "Welcome back."

"I'm truly eased by your safe return, King Sinbad," Ja'far said, smiling at him.

Tettia squeaked happily as she attacked her husband with a koala hug. "Welcome back!" she exclaimed.

Like many times before, the force of her sudden hug had the king almost falling backwards. He stumbled before he caught himself and his wife. "Thank you. I have been away for a long time, Ja'far. Your welcoming is very heartwarming, Tet," he said, patting her head.

"Hey, Pervy, who's this girl?" asked one of the mysterious women who was following Sinbad. Her hair was calf-length and golden; her eyes were gorgeous and purple.

Tora looked at the golden haired woman and laughed, "She's his wife, Marina."

Marina's mouth hung open, unbelievingly. "EXCUSE ME?!" she yelled loudly.

"Mari… be quieter," said the long-haired, purplenette beside her.

"But Abi-poo! This is serious! When did Sinny the Perv get a wife?!" exclaimed Marina, throwing her arms into the air.

Laughing, Tora replied, "She's right, Sarabi. This is serious. King Moron actually found a fucking wife to love him!"

Tettia laughed at them. "Hello, my name is Tettia, but you can call me Tet," she said, detaching herself from Sinbad's torso.

Sarabi sighed and whispered to Tora, "It's a prank, isn't it?"

The other purplenette laughed at how quickly the blue-eyed killjoy found out. "Yeah, Tet is trying to make someone else jealous. Therefore, she claimed to be his wife," she whispered back.

"Wonderful," Sarabi said with a sigh. "It looks like King Sinbad has already taken a liking to her."

Smirking widely, Tora replied, "Oh he has." Everyone walked off, following Sinbad.

"There have been no reports of incident during your absence," said Ja'far.

Sinbad smiled, "I see."

Ja'far, Sinbad and Tettia were in a room, everyone else walked off somewhere within the palace. "So… regarding Balbadd, how did the _conference_ with the Kou Empire go?" asked a curious Ja'far.

Tettia, who was sitting in his lap, looked up at him and nodded. "Aye, tell us how it went!"

"Well… although the Kou Empire will make Balbadd part of it's administration, they've also agreed to acknowledge Balbadd as a _Republic_ autonomy," the king said.

Ja'far and Tettia both sighed and Ja'far said, "Is that so… half a year ago, when the large military force from the Kou Empire arrived right after the fight, I thought that war was inevitable."

Sinbad nodded as he replied, "Yeah… that was nerve-wracking for me. But, it seems like Kou did not even intend to exterminate Balbadd in the first place. Their purpose was solely to make Balbadd come under their jurisdiction. At first, they planned to use the marriage with the princess… but in case that it failed, they would have induced the citizens to raise a rebellion, and use that as a reason to interfere with their military and rule over Balbadd by subjugation…"

The half-Fanalis gasped, "So that was their scheme from the beginning!?"

Nodding at his wife, Sinbad played with her hair as he answered, "Yes. The evidence is that they had placed their fleets off the port in advance to standby. Thinking about it again, something like the _Citizen Enslavement Project_ may have just been a disguise to induce the citizens into raising a rebellion…"

"So this means that everything had gone according to plan for the Kou Empire…" the white-haired advisor said with a slight frown.

Sinbad sighed, nodded and spoke, "However, I've already done what I can as the King of the Seven Seas."

Both the red-head woman and white-haired man smiled and said, "That is… great."

"Yeah. I think that, after going through that experience, the hearts of Balbadd's citizens have become stronger. Even under the jurisdiction of Kou, they should be fine on their own," the king said with a smile.

Tettia kissed his cheek and said exactly what Ja'far was thinking, "Sinny, you must be tired from the long journey. Why don't you rest for a bit?"

"No, I want to report to them first," he replied, smiling lovingly at his wife.

That was when Masrur, Tora and Morgiana walked in. "Welcome back," Masrur said, waving at Sinbad.

Sinbad stood up after Tettia had gotten off his lap, they all started walking away, going towards where Alibaba and Aladdin were. "Aladdin and Alibaba. So, how are the two of them?" he asked.

"Well… at first, they thought that we hadn't saved the country and were so dispirited after losing Cassim. They shut themselves in their rooms all the time and hardly ate… which is worrying considering how much Laddin eats. We could all barely watch, especially me. But, they've become more cheerful nowadays," Tettia explained with a smile, waving as Tora, Masrur and Morgiana went a different way.

"I see, that's great," said a smiling Sinbad. "That time, because you all fought with all your might, you gave hope to the citizens of Balbadd. You three have given people courage, even when you had lost your important friend and were hurt and burned. I was overwhelmed. I'll never forget that scene in my life. The ones who saved that country… were you three brave youths without a doubt."

Tettia blushed embarrassedly. "Oh, hush you, I didn't do much. It was mainly Laddin and Ali," she said.

"Sinbad! Tet!" called out a familiar voice. Alibaba ran towards them. "Sinbad, welcome back!"

The king smiled, "Ohh, Alibaba! Long time no see!"

Alibaba smiled, "Yeah! We haven't seen each other since you left four months ago!"

"Yeah!" Sinbad said with a smile. His smile faded as he saw that Alibaba had gained a lot of weight. The blond's stomach had tripled in size, his arms and face had gotten noticeably chubbier as well. Tettia and Tora looked at each other, eyes wide and jaws dropped.

"For letting me stay in such a luxurious palace after that, I'm indebted to you," Alibaba said, holding out a hand.

Sinbad looked at the former prince weirdly. "Well, that is fine, but Alibaba…"

"Yes?" he asked.

"You… grew fatter, didn't you?" the king asked.

The blond seemed surprised by the king's statement. He blushed embarrassedly, patting his chubby belly. "Is that so? Now that you've mentioned it… well, every single dish here is really delicious," he said.

"Jaffy… what did I tell you about over-feeding them," hissed a serious Tettia, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Ja'far laughed nervously, "They kept asking for more and I didn't want them to starve. Does it suit your tastes?"

"Yes! The barbecue papagarosu bird yesterday was excellent," exclaimed the blond to Ja'far. "Although I didn't eat much when I first arrived here… for Cassim's sake, I thought that I'd pull myself together too!"

"I see," said Sinbad.

"Sinbad, if there's anything that I can do, please tell me. In order to prevent another situation like that of Balbadd, I'm already prepared to fight against the _abnormalities of the world_ ," said the chubby Alibaba.

Sinbad smiled widely as he replied, "That's great!" Alibaba went to talk to Ja'far. When the blond's attention was on the freckle-faced advisor, Sinbad whispered to Tettia in a seriously disappointed tone, "I wonder why that even though he said some really courageous things… I didn't feel moved at all…"

"Maybe because he's gotten bigger?" she whispered back.

He shook his head and whispered back, "No, no. Wait a second. This is a good thing. He's just a _little_ fatter, that's all. The pain of losing his country and his important friend… if it could be cured with something like eating…"

Tettia interrupted him, whispering, "No matter what, him and Laddin will always be the heroes who saved a country!"

Sinbad looked at her and smiled. "I take it you didn't know they were eating this much," he whispered.

Tettia shook her head, replying, "God no. If I had, you know they would've been worked to the bone."

"Aladdin's still eating," stated Alibaba. "Hey~ Aladdin. ALADDIN!"

Sinbad and Tettia entered the room, to a blob of fat saying, "It's so tasty; these dishes are so tasty! Ah!" The blob turned around to look at Tettia and Sinbad. "Welcome back! Sinbad! Good to see you, Tet! It's been a while!" he said in his sweet voice.

The king and queen stared at the obese Aladdin with gleams eyes. "Yeah, I'm back…" said Sinbad.

Tettia and Sinbad both looked serious as the sat at the table. "Run," they said simply.

"Eh?" the bluenette Magi and blond questioned in unison.

Standing up, Tettia slapped her hands angrily onto the table. "You heard us! You both will run off the weight you gained while you were being lazy bumps!" she yelled.

Aladdin waved his arm in the air dismissively as he said, "You wouldn't make us do that~"

Glaring at the two, Tettia hissed, "You wanna bet? GET RUNNING!" She stomped towards them, seething in anger that they had let themselves go. "Get running! If I catch you, you're dead! HOW DARE YOU LET YOURSELVES GO LIKE THIS!" she yelled, bolting towards them. The fat duo shrieked in terror as they quickly turned around and ran away from the seething half-Fanalis. "That's right! You two'd better fucking run!" Tettia called, running after them.

Running through the palace, Marina and Sarabi saw the queen of Sindria running after two fat males. "That looks fun!" exclaimed Marina, ready to run after the trio.

Sarabi sighed and grabbed her queen by the collar of her dress. "Yeah, no. Don't get involved with that, Mari," she said with a sigh.

"Why are you such a killjoy?!" whined Marina as her best friend and advisor dragged her in the opposite direction of the trio.

Alibaba and Aladdin ran for their lives on a daily basis. In order to lose the body fat they had gained due to their laziness, their sweat flowed daily as they ran from an angry Tettia. After several weeks, Alibaba had gotten thinner. "Great! I got thinner!" the blond exclaimed.

Tettia patted Alibaba's back. "Way to go, Ali," she said.

"You've finally gotten thinner, Alibaba!" exclaimed Aladdin.

Both Alibaba and Tettia looked at Aladdin. "And… you didn't loose a single pound," sighed the half-Fanalis, face-palming.

Aladdin smiled. "Ah, that's not true, Tet. I've lost some weight too. Like, around my face. But even when I'm on a diet, it's still very difficult to get back to normal. The reason must be that I haven't gotten to use my belly's powers recently," he said, remembering Ugo.

"Ch-cheer up, Aladdin!" said Morgiana.

"Erm… that's right. Why don't you eat something delicious?" offered Ja'far.

Tettia hissed, "Hey! Don't spoil him! Laddin needs to lose that weight!"

Sinbad nodded and added, "I'll be very troubled if the two of you are always like this! You're the _guests_ of my country. Of course, as the King of Sindria, I do hope that you can share your powers with us. You're not the only guest here. I hope you can lend me your strength, just like the others!"

Alibaba looked at Sinbad and asked, "Lend you our strength…? What about Tet?"

"I'm his queen, he has my strength without question now," she said, kissing Sinbad's cheek. Her action had Alibaba once again, like the good old days of a half a year ago, glaring at the purple-haired king. _Ah, I've missed those glares Ali throws at Sinny_ , she thought to herself.

The four of them sat at a table, and instead of sitting in a chair, Tettia opted to sit in Sinbad's lap, facing her two best male friends. Rolling his golden eyes, smiling at his wife's action, he began to play with her hair. Clearing his throat, Sinbad began, "To fight against a certain opponent…"

Like the countless times before, Alibaba forced his jealousy down, just to ask, " _A certain opponent_?"

"Yes. Even before Sindria was established, we've had a deep connection with a certain organization and had fought countless times. Didn't I mention about the _abnormalities of the world_ before? War, poverty, discrimination… these are spreading at an increasing rate around the world. And it is not happening by chance, but was planned by the organization. They try to slip into the centers of countries in various manners, sometimes as merchants, political advisors, or court ladies, and manipulate history from the shadows… _Al-Thamen_. They never use the same name, but that's what we refer to their organization as," explained Sinbad.

Aladdin looked at Sinbad and repeated, "Al-Thamen."

"Since you're all involved now, I'll say it straight. Previously, at Balbadd, you have caught their attention," he said, combing his fingers continuously through Tettia's soft hair.

Tettia gasped, both out of surprise and pleasure, and said, "That means…"

"That's right. That man, who had claimed to be a _banker_ , pushed Balbadd's economy into a plight. In addition, the ones hiding behind the back of the Kou Empire, such as Judar and that Black Djinn, are unmistakably _Al-Thamen_ ," spoke Sinbad, still playing with his wife's hair. "Or they might have even, in a way I hadn't noticed, forced Balbadd into a state of civil strife. They're now doing the same things to the entire world…"

Alibaba stood up from his seat and his fist shook angrily, both Tettia and Aladdin noticed this and said in a worried tone, "Alibaba…"

"I'm fine. Please continue," he replied, looking at the table with a hurt gaze. He sat back down.

Sinbad smiled a small smile and he said, "I can't forgive them either. That's why, to fight against such a powerful opponent, I need more power."

Looking towards the king, Alibaba said, "You told us to _lend you our strength_ … what can we do?"

"I won't say any more than this. Well, it just means that you'll get completely involved in fighting against this organization. Also, you're still too weak. If you fought against the organization now, it would only result in defeat. You'll have to get stronger first. This includes you, too, my lovely Tet. Alibaba's Djinn Equipment, Aladdin's magic, and your Fanalis strength and dagger-skills are still far from being mastered," the king said, kissing Tettia's cheek as he told her she needed training as well.

In response, Tettia nodded, "You're right, I do need training. But, let's work on my sword and dagger-skills first and foremost. I use my daggers more than my Fanalis strength."

Aladdin nodded in agreement. "You're right. I felt deeply that my powers weren't enough that time. I want to learn more about magic, but I don't know what I can do," the young bluenette said.

"Hmm… magic, huh? Then it'll be best if someone who uses magic can teach you. It just so happens that one of my country's guests is a magician," he said, getting up. Tettia koala-hugged his waist and torso. Sinbad looked over the railing and exclaimed, "Hey, Yamraiha! Come here!"

The blue-haired sorceress looked up at Sinbad and called back, "Yes, King! I'm coming!" She then got up and made her way over to them.

Sinbad looked back at the blond and bluenette, pointing at the oncoming Yamraiha. " _Magi_ aren't the only ones who can use magic. She is an outstanding sorceress of water. I'm sure she can help you, Aladdin," he said. Looking down at his wife, he pat her head, "I'm sorry, I moved suddenly."

"It's fine, I just instinctually koala-hugged you so I wouldn't fall," she said, unwrapping herself from his torso.

Sinbad smiled at her and pat her head. "It's fine, Tet," he said. "Now, go with Alibaba and Aladdin and make sure they don't do anything you wouldn't do."

"Okay! See you when I see you, Sinny!" Tettia said, hugging her husband. After they hugged, the king left.

Yamraiha entered the room and asked the trio to follow her. The trio followed her to a room with scrolls and information everywhere. Tettia was in awe at the scrolls, while Alibaba and Aladdin looked at her with a blush and open mouths. "I'm Yamraiha, previously introduced by the King. Although I don't know if someone like me can be of help to the great Magi… please ask me any questions if you have any doubts," she said with a gentle smile.

Alibaba rubbed the back of his head nervously, whispering to Aladdin, "She looks like a beautiful and gentle person, don't you agree, Aladdin?" When he did not get a response, the blond looked to his right, looking for Aladdin, "Hello… hmm?"

Aladdin had walked towards Yamraiha. To his left, Tettia groaned, knowing exactly what he was about to do. "Miss!" he exclaimed, burying his face into Yamraiha's breasts.

"KYAAA!" yelled the sorceress in surprise. "Ah… no… stop it…" she said. Aladdin did not stop, so she was forced to use her magic. "Stop it, you damn brat!" she exclaimed, surrounding Aladdin with hot steam.

The young bluenette rolled around on the ground. Alibaba tried to help Aladdin. "It's hot!? Are you alright, Aladdin!?" he exclaimed.

Sighing heavily, Tettia said, "Calm down, Ali. Laddin's fine. It's just steam."

The blue-haired sorceress nodded and proceeded to say with a hiss, "Let me tell you… try doing that again and I'll evaporate you from within your bodies."

Aladdin and Alibaba sat dejected in the corner. The bluenette boy said, "Miss… looks gentle, but isn't at all…"

Both Tettia and Yamraiha spoke, "That's unnecessary…"

"Seriously… I was nervous when I heard that you were the legendary, great Magi… I'm at a loss as to why I even cared. You're just a perverted brat. Moreover, you're fat…" sighed Yamraiha.

Laughing, Tettia asked, "Is meeting a Magi something to be nervous about?"

"Well, think of it like this, they're on a higher level compared to us sorcerers. So, what do you think, Tettia?" she replied, looking at the half-Fanalis.

Aladdin cocked his head in confusion, asking, "What is a sorcerer? I want to know, miss. Please tell me."

Yamraiha cast her sapphire gaze towards Tettia, silently asking her if Aladdin was serious. "Oh no, he's one-hundred percent serious, Yam," she said, crossing her arms.

Walking over to the table, the sorceress said, "…Fine. Then you better listen properly, okay?" Aladdin nodded and she began, "Magi and sorcerers, are ranks of magicians. Magic is the transformation of Magoi into other substances. It can be fire or water or thunder. But normal people, without ant special tools such as _metal vessels_ , _household vessels_ , or _magical items_ will not be able to do the transformation." The trio gasped interestedly and the sorceress continued, "However, there are some who can transform their Magoi without any tools… they can converse with Rukh from birth, and can give special orders to Rukh, leading to the occurrence of many different kinds of natural phenomena… they're living communicators who are closest to the world's _Great Flow_ … and that's us, magicians!" Aladdin gasped, and she continued, "In addition, there are many different ranks among magicians… according to the amount of Magoi their Rukh produce, they can be classified into… something like this," she used to magic to create a pyramid showing the levels. "Do you understand?"

"Yes! I understand! This is my first time talking to others about magic-related topics. And also my first time making friends with a sorcerer. I'm very happy. Thank you, Miss Yamraiha," he said, extending his hand out to her. She took his hand and Aladdin said, "I want to improve my magic! Please teach me more!"

"Sure," Yamraiha replied.

They walked outside into the courtyard and Aladdin asked, "What kind of magic are you going to teach me first!?"

"Hmm, before that, I've something I want to see. Your magic at full strength! I need to have a grasp of your current ability and habits before I start the training. Anything is fine, just fire!"

Alibaba and Tettia cheered for Aladdin, "Do your best!"

Walking ahead of them, Aladdin smiled at his two best friends, "Okay!" He pointed his cane at the sky and said, "Halharl Infigar!" A large beam of magic came and everyone was amazed. Yamraiha was duly impressed. When the beam disappeared, Aladdin turned towards them, having lost the remainder of his weight. "How's that, miss?"

The sorceress was so amazed, she fell down. "Too… too amazing, Aladdin! Please, tell me more about yourself!" she exclaimed, squishing his face into her breasts for a few brief moments.

Tettia laughed, then glomped Aladdin and Alibaba. "We're back to normal, lads," she called out.

Alibaba and Aladdin laughed as they fell to the ground. "Yeah! Now we just have to train and we'll be ready for our battle!" they all laughed.

As Yamraiha and Aladdin trained, Alibaba looked on. Tettia had left to go with Sinbad, to ask about her training a while ago. He was feeling inferior to Aladdin, as he was not doing anything. "Oh, you're working hard," someone said as they walked towards Alibaba.

"Sinbad! And Tet and Morgiana," he said, turning to look at the approaching king.

Tettia smiled and grabbed the blond's arm, exclaiming, "Ali~ your metal vessel training and my sword-skills training isn't here!" Alibaba sighed, smiling to himself, happy that she was grabbing him and not Sinbad for the first time in a while.

"On Aladdin's side, it looks like it's going quite smoothly. Morgiana approached me countless times to talk about acquiring new powers too," Sinbad said.

Morgiana looked at Alibaba and Tettia as she said, "To be of help to you, Tettia and Aladdin."

Sinbad asked, smiling at them, "Speaking of which, Alibaba have you made any progress regarding the ways to use a Djinn?"

Alibaba drew his knife from its sheath. "Actually, regarding this matter… I wanted to consult you, Sinbad, after you returned," he said, showing the king that his knife was broken.

Both the king and his queen gasped at the state of the blond's knife. "This is… quite bad," they said, looking at one another.

"Amon's sword has been rendered completely unusable. It was damaged during that battle… and it was broken. Forget Djinn Equipment, it can't even let out flames now. Even with Aladdin's call, there was no answer. What should I do from now on…" asked a worried Alibaba.

"I see…" the king said, taking the knife, "It is true that this sword is already unusable. But it doesn't mean that Amon is dead. It's just that the knife acting as a metal vessel is broken. It'll be fine as long as we transfer Amon to another metal vessel. That way, it'll be usable again," he said, handing it back to Alibaba.

The blond gasped happily. "That's great!"

Sinbad smiled and said, "Djinn Equipment is the fusion of the Djinn and its master within a body, to utilize its power… which is why, the vessel containing the Djinn should preferably be something that the user is familiar with, to a degree that is could be said that it's part of the user's body. The fact that Amon had chosen it, that knife must have had been something important to you, am I right? Where and when did you obtain it?"

"I've actually been curious about that myself," added Tettia, looking at Alibaba with a smile.

Alibaba rubbed the back of his head, "W-well… it's not a big deal, but… it was that one time I'd just entered the palace, during my practice lessons for economy outside of class, the only time that the late king of Balbadd… that father can to visit me. That day when I first managed to be successful with a trade negotiation alone, using the profit I earned, I bought this knife. Well, this is just something cheap. What a pity it broke."

Tettia hugged the blond, which surprised him. "I'm sorry it broke, too, Ali!" she exclaimed, kissing his cheek.

"I see. A knife with connection to the previous king. Come, Alibaba. I've something to give you," said Sinbad, walking off. Tettia, Morgiana and Alibaba followed after him. They went to a treasure room and the king walked up to a chest. "I thought I would hand it to you one day though," he said, placing a knife in front of the blond.

Alibaba looked at the knife and said, "This is…?"

Sinbad smiled. "This is a sword I received from the previous king of Balbadd," he said. Alibaba and Morgiana gasped and looked at him, Tettia just leaned against him. "This is a treasured sword with a distinguished history that is passed down for generations within the Balbadd Royal Family. Your father taught me many things. When my country was just established, I didn't understand the significance of it. Until I experienced a certain battle, where I hurt my country and its residents. Your father gave me the sword as an encouragement to pull myself together when I lost my ways," he said, picking up the sword, "This time, I'll entrust this to you. If you have the desire to draw your sword again, to achieve you ambitions!"

Alibaba looked at Sinbad with a serious gleam in his eyes, getting onto his knees as he said, "At the risk of my own life!"

Sinbad then handed him the sword. "Ok, it's Morgiana's turn now!" he exclaimed. Morgiana gasped. They walked into another area. "Morgiana, you too, choose a metal artifact you like from here!"

"Does Morgiana need a metal vessel too?" asked the blond.

Sinbad nodded, "Yes. She'll need one if she wants to fight alongside you, Tettia and Aladdin. Anyway… the ones standing on the same battlefield, together with the use of the Djinn's Metal Vessel… can become a _household_ in certain circumstances. They are people attracted to the caliber of the king. Powerful warriors who have received the king's Magoi and the blessings of his Djinn's powers… well, in any circumstance where that happens, you'll form a vessel that can be used to store powers, a _Household Vessel_. It's fine as long as it's made of metal and can be worn. If it's Morgiana, anything seems fitting," he said, holding up a necklace.

Tettia pinched his cheek and said, "Keep flirting with her and you'll get hurt."

"I've never… worn any of these before…" said the purebred Fanalis.

"Oh— Morgiana, won't this suit you well?" asked Alibaba, holding out metal claws.

The half-Fanalis and Sinbad sighed. Morgiana seemed angry for a moment, before she put on the claws and said in a pouty voice, "Does it suit me…?" She grabbed at the air.

Tettia squealed at her cuteness and hugged her, nuzzling her. "Morg~! You're so cute~!"

"Well, the truth is, Morgiana. Just like Alibaba's knife, it'll be better if it's metal that was worn for a long period of time. Do you have anything like this?" he asked.

Morgiana thought for a moment, before saying, "Erm… as long as it's metal, anything is fine, right…?"

"Yeah," said Sinbad and Tettia, the latter leaning against the former. Morgiana nodded and quickly left. Sinbad pulled Tettia close, combed his fingers effortlessly through her hair and asked, smiling at her, "What you doing, gorgeous?"

Tettia hummed, "Oh ya know… just leaning on you."

Alibaba glared at the _couple_. _Again, that should be ME, and not Sinbad!_ he thought to himself. To get his mind off of jealousy, he said out loud, "That Morgiana, I wonder what will she bring back when she said she thought of something suitable?"

Being reduced to a puddle of goo, Tettia mumbled something incoherently. Just before Alibaba could ask her to repeat herself, Morgiana came back and placed the object she wanted on the table. "This is it," she said.

Tettia and Alibaba's jaws dropped. "Morg… are those…?" asked the half-Fanalis.

The purebred Fanalis nodded. "Yes. This is the shackles I always wore in Chishan. I couldn't bear to throw them away. This is… Aladdin's way of encouraging me, it was broken by Goltas, and removed by Alibaba and Tettia. This is filled with kindness from the most important people to me, it is the thing I am most proud of," she said, picking up the shackles, smiling sweetly.

The semi-wavy-haired half-Fanalis could not help but hug the younger Fanalis tightly. "You're so adorable, Morg!" she gushed.

At the watchtower along the northeast coast of the Sindria Kingdom, a sea monster unleashed an attack. "Danger alert! Issue the danger alert!" yelled someone.

The monster climbed up the wall and loomed in the sky. Instead of being terrified, the people of Sindria rejoiced. "It's a rampaging Moray!"

"A rampaging moray has appeared!"

"Such a thing…!? Tonight… We're having a festival!"

"It's a festival we haven't done in half a year!"

"Convey this to the palace, quickly!"

Sinbad smiled. "I've already entrusted Morgiana's fetter to a metal craftsman with good craftsmanship to see if he could make it into a useful vessel… look forward to it!" he exclaimed.

"Okay," said Morgiana.

Alibaba held out his newly acquired sword and said, "I want to transfer Amon to this sword as soon as possible, too."

"Well… I won't say I can't understand your feelings, but… it is still not the time now. You still haven't gotten close to the sword yet. You'll have to bring it with you at all times from today onwards, and train with all your heart. When the treasured Balbadd sword has become part of you, Amon should transfer over automatically. This is how it works. Before the transfer, you'll just have to put your heart into training your sword skills," said Sinbad.

Alibaba nodded, "I got it…" he said. His brown orbs looked at Morgiana, Masrur and Tora: who were conversing back and forth. Alibaba then looked at Sinbad again, "Erm, Sinbad!"

"Hmm?" hummed Sinbad, looking back at Alibaba.

"Can you be my fencing teacher!? Because I've only learned for a few years…" said Alibaba.

"Well, it's true that it'll be more appropriate that way… after all, you and Tet need to be trained more… but, there is someone more suitable that me. He's a warrior stronger than me in terms of swordplay," the king said, smiling at the blond and his red-head wife (who was standing beside Alibaba).

Tettia was unbelieving, "Stronger than you?"

"Your majesty!" exclaimed soldiers who ran to Sinbad. "A southern creature has appeared in the Orchard of the Eastern Zones."

Sinbad smiled. Oh how the timing was perfect. "I see. Just in time. Alibaba, Tet, take a look at your fencing teacher's skills. Summon the Eight Generals and Tora!"

Morgiana and Alibaba looked upon the giant monster with horror, meanwhile, Tettia looked at the monster with a hungry look in her eyes. They were confused as to why the people were not running for cover. The blond drew his sword, exclaiming, "It's dangerous!"

"Alibaba! Morg! Tet! You three were called out here as well?"

"Laddin!" exclaimed Tettia, hugging the bluenette.

The Eight Generals, plus Tora, Marina, Sarabi and Sinbad stood above the people. A dark-skinned man said with a smile, "Leave it to me, your majesty! Over here, you big monster!" The man proceeded to gut the monster and make it look like a meal, which it was.

Alibaba almost fell over, "It's plated?!"

The dark-skinned man waved, smiling widely and saying, "Everyone, share it harmoniously!"

Tettia and Alibaba looked on in amazement. "How… how skillful!" the duo said.

Yamraiha sighed, "He's only trying to get attention. That guy!"

Tora slapped Yamraiha on the back, "Oh calm the fuck down, Yam. Get over it. Sharky is good at swordplay, you're good at magic. Stop bellyaching."

The man walked over to Sinbad and everyone. "This is how it is, Alibaba, Tet… this person will be your swordplay master. He's Sharrkan," said Sinbad.

Tettia shook Sharrkan's hand, and Alibaba did the same. "Nice to meet you!" Sharrkan said to his two students. "I've heard that you're both looking for a teacher. Is that you wanted to improve your fencing no matter what?" he asked them.

The duo nodded, replying, "Yes!"

"I see… so you two like swordplay that much. Understanding the value in swords, you have a promise," he said, slinking an arm around both their shoulders he asked the blond, "Erm, what Baba are you again?"

"I'm Alibaba."

"Alibaba is it!? For men, it has to be swordplay, right?! And you are you, girlie? Tet?" he asked the half-Fanalis.

Tettia laughed, "I'm Tettia, but you can call me Tet. I don't care."

"Alibaba, Tettia, if you talk too much with that guy, you'll get infected with fencing idiocy," Yamraiha said in a pissy voice.

Tora growled and had her shoulder in a death-grip. " _Yam_ … I suggest you drop it… _now_ ," she said threateningly.

Marina laughed, "Tora's being threatening again!"

"I can see that…" sighed Sarabi.

Sharrkan looked at Yamraiha and asked, "What did you say?"

Tora death-gripped his shoulder as well. "Shark-boy… I suggest you not start anything either, understand me? I would _hate_ to cut King Moron's Eight Generals down to _Six_ Generals," she said, lowly.

Both Sharrkan and Yamraiha looked at Tora with fear in their eyes. Sinbad laughed and said, "It's great that you three have teachers who love fencing and magic. Aladdin, Alibaba and Tet, you should also be determined not to depend on each other and to get stronger!"

"I see…" said Sharrkan, his arms wrapped around his disciples's shoulders again.

"I can't wish for more…" said Yamraiha, her arms wrapped around Aladdin's shoulders.

"Then let's compete, by seeing whose disciples are stronger!" exclaimed the two rivals.

Aladdin and Tettia choked out, "WHAT!?" The trio whined and called out for each other as their respective masters pulled him away from each other.

Morgiana stood beside Masrur and Tora. "I'm glad that I have Masrur and Tora with me," she said.

"But start their training tomorrow," commanded Sinbad.

"Huh?" asked both Sharrkan and Yamraiha in curiosity.

Sinbad smiled and said, "Tonight, we'll have to celebrate."


	19. Tora's Plan and the Festival

**Chapter Nineteen: Tora's Plan and the Festival**

 **A/N: Marina and Sarabi are not mine, they belong to my friend on Quotev.**

* * *

The palace was busy and bustling; the three original best friends wondered around the palace. "Look at everyone getting ready for the festival tonight," beamed Tettia, swaying from side to side as she walked.

"You seem happy for the festival, too, Tet. What's up with that," asked Aladdin, smiling at his best friend.

Tettia closed her eyes and hummed, almost debating whether or not to tell the bluenette and blond. "Hmmmmmmmmm… I think I'm gonna let you two figure that out later. Especially, you, Mister Saluja~! You'll _really_ enjoy what I have planned," she hummed, winking at the blond.

Said blond blushed, blinked slowly and then rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. "I, surprisingly, do not doubt that," he said with a nervous laugh.

Tora and Marina looked on from the shadows, evil smiles on their faces. Tora had hatched a devious plot, which included some of Marina's candy; therefore, she was caught up in the plan, too. "Go get Tet, Marina," whispered Tora, shoving the golden-haired queen towards the best friends. Marina looked back at Tora with a huge grin. The deviant purplenette wrung her hands together almost devilishly as she whispered to herself, "If this doesn't get Babwa to realize his feelings for Tet, then _nothing_ will."

Walking toward the trio, Marina waved at them. "Hey guys, what'cha talking about?" she asked them.

Tettia beamed at the older woman and said cheerfully, "Oh, nothing much. I was just telling Laddin and Ali here that I'm happy for the festival for a certain reason that I won't tell them."

"That's great! I'm sure they'll love it when they figure it out. Tet, Sin the Perv actually sent me to get you, he needs to talk with you about training," she skillfully lied through her teeth.

Tilting her head in confusion, the half-Fanalis shrugged. "Alright then, if Sinny needs me. Then, I'll see you two later," she said, hugging her two best friends, kissing their cheeks before leaving with Marina.

Alibaba touched his cheek, the blush still on them. "You still think she has feelings for me, Aladdin?" he asked his young bluenette best friend.

Looking at the blond former prince, Aladdin nodded, "Oh yeah! I definitely think that Tet still likes you! After all, she is the one who kissed you first. Haven't you guys kissed more than just that _one_ time in Amon's Dungeon?"

The young Magi's question had the blond slumping over in defeat. "No! Do you _really_ think that we even had the time to do anything like that? We came close that morning she found me, but we had to cut that short so Cassim would've sent men to find us. Plus, with all that happened in Balbadd and now this… still no time. Anyways, that's besides the point, now she's Sinbad's…" he said, growling at the end in jealousy.

"Hehe! Don't worry, I'm sure soon, they'll both figure out that who they're meant to be with isn't each other. You'll have another chance to kiss her, you know," said the young Magi wisely.

That had the blond smiling hopefully. "Yeah! I believe you, Aladdin."

"So, what did Sinny wanna talk to me about again?" asked an oblivious Tettia.

Marina shrugged. "Oh, yeah, _that_ … was a lie. Tora wanted me to get you," she said with a devilish little smile.

"Umm… the fuck?" questioned Tettia, now sort of worried. "I don't see Tora… where is she?"

Tora attacked from the shadows and stuck something in her half-Fanalis best friend's hair. "I did it! Let's go!" she exclaimed, running away, dragging Marina with her.

Tettia touched her hair and felt something sticky. "Ewwww! What did she stick in my hair?! Sinnnnnnny!" she whined, walking off towards Sinbad.

Sinbad heard his _wife's_ distressed whining and popped his head out of a room. "Yes? What is it, my dear?" he asked.

"Tora stuck something sticky in my hair, can you help me get it out?"

"Oh no… she did? Come in here," he said, welcoming her into his room. Tettia walked in and sat down on his bed and he sat behind her. "This is going to hurt, just so you know. I apologize in advance," he said.

She shrugged and spoke, "It's fine. I expected it to hurt. Just get it over with… please."

Sinbad smiled and said, "Alright, I will. Let's start with this."

Tora was pushing Alibaba towards the area where she knew Sinbad and Tettia were. Perfect timing, as well. "OWWWWWW! _Sinnnnnnnnny_! Get it out, getitout! God, it fucking hurtssssss!" Tettia could be heard yelling through the door.

"No, no, no. Calm down, Tet, it's gonna be okay. Give it a minute and you'll feel better," replied Sinbad.

Tettia moaned, "Fineeeee! Just… do it faster, please!"

Tora and Marina watched as the blond's face momentarily drained of color, then almost immediately contorted into one of anger and seriousness. "What the _hell_ does he think he's doing with _my girl_?" he growled dangerously. All of the sudden, he knew exactly why he was always so jealous of Sinbad — Alibaba was in love with the half-Fanalis. The blond may not have known Tettia for all that long, but he somehow knew he loved her.

"Umm… Babwa, I hate to fucking tell you, but Tet isn't _your_ girl," chimed Tora, a huge shit-eating grin on her face.

Alibaba laughed, smiling almost darkly, "Maybe not at this specific moment, but I'll get her back. Tet was mine before Sinbad came along and I'm determined to get her back."

Tora chuckled and asked, "And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"Oh, you'll see…" replied Alibaba, a devious smirk gracing his lips. The blond mumbled something incoherently to himself as he turned around and walked away.

Pinkish-red and purple eyes clashed, both pairs of orbs gleaming with happiness. The plan had worked. "IT FUCKING WORKED!" exclaimed Tora as she high-fived Marina.

Marina high-fived back, laughing hysterically, "I didn't think it would work, Tora! I thought he would just accept defeat and walk away!"

The mischievous duo walked away, laughing. "How fucking _dare_ you think my plan would work, Marina! How long have you known me, dammit?" asked an apprehensive Tora at the utterance that Marina doubted her plan.

"It's been quite a long time. Also, HEY, your plans don't have the best success rate. Just so you know, Tora," shrugged Marina.

Rolling her eyes, Tora sighed out, "I can't fucking deny that. You win, _this time_."

Finally, the candy that had been stuck in her hair was removed. Tettia leaned back on Sinbad's bed and let out a relieved sigh, "Well that was… _interesting_ …"

Sinbad laughed and tossed the candy-defiled brush off to the side, laying down beside his _wife_. "Yeah, nothing _that_ interesting has happened since Tora went overboard as a starfish on the way back home," he said, laughing.

"That was fucking terrifying," laughed Tettia, "I thought she was dead!"

"But, then she came flopping back onto the boat, three days later, squeaking like a dolphin," the king and queen said in unison. They looked at one another for a few moments, then proceeded to laugh heartily.

Tettia sat up and got up from the bed. "Well, I should go get ready for the festival," she announced.

"Why do you need to get ready?" asked Sinbad.

Smiling brightly, Tettia leaned over and booped him on the nose. " _You'll_ just have to wait, just like Laddin and Ali have to. Anyways," she said, walking over to and opening the door, "thanks again for helping me out, Sinny~!" Tettia winked and then left his room.

As soon as the half-Fanalis left the king's chamber, a certain crazy golden-haired queen snatched her up. "Hey, Tet! C'mon! We have to get you ready," Marina exclaimed, winking at the half-Fanalis.

Tettia laughed, "If you meant dressing up as one of the exotic dancers, I was already gonna do that!"

"Good! Because Tora, Morgiana and I were going to do that, too!" exclaimed Marina, leading Tettia off.

"Then, onwards! We must all look fine as hell! For our men!" called Tettia, pointing in the direction they were going.

Marina laughed, "Well, I just like to do it because the dancers are pretty and I like participating in the dancing and festival!"

Snickering, Tettia replied, "True! And Morgiana has no one to try and impress."

"Hey, slow-asses! Hurry the _fuck_ up!" yelled Tora from the room at the end of the hall, to the right. Marina and Tettia shook their heads, speeding off to the purplenette. Once they were in the room, they were met with an already dressed up Morgiana and Tora. Morgiana's outfit was a two-piece connected with two pieces of cloth at her mid-drift, slightly tinged pink, it also had a choker connected to her top to keep it up and a veil to flow behind her. Tora's outfit was a tradition two-piece exotic dancer attire, slightly tinged purple with the same choker holding her top up. "Welcome! Now, fucking strip and put these on," she said, throwing the two their outfits.

Tettia looked at her outfit, it was similar Morgiana's but the cloth connecting her top and bottom was translucent, plus her outfit was slightly tinged turquoise. Quickly, Tettia removed her clothes and put on the new attire for the night. "It's snug on my chest and hips," she said.

"That's how it's supposed to be, Tet," said Marina as she was putting on her slightly lilac colored outfit that was similar to Tora's.

Throwing her hair up into a ponytail, Tettia's semi-wavy and unkempt hair made for a cute ponytail. "Well, then. I think I look okay," she said.

Tora smiled, pat her shoulder and said, "You look like a fucking jewel, Tet. Babwa's gonna lose his fucking mind when he sees you."

"Y-you think?" asked a blushing, stuttering Tettia.

Marina looked confused. "Wait, I thought you were married to Sin the Perv?"

"Oh, yeah… the marriage is a prank to get Alibaba jealous," admitted Tettia with a smile.

"Really? You and Sin the Perv don't really act like it's just a prank," said the golden-haired queen.

Shrugging, Tettia replied, "I won't lie and say I haven't grown to have feelings for Sinny, but, I have stronger feelings for Ali. We both know this is strictly a prank, too."

Marina smiled and laughed, "As long as you both know it's a prank, then, have fun with it!"

"Yeah! And believe me, I think we've been having _a lot_ of fun with this prank! Sinny has been going all out to help me!"

Night was upon them and the festival began. Alibaba looked on in awe at the size of the festival. "T-this is an incredible festival!" he exclaimed in awe, his previous irritation at Sinbad boiled away to nothing.

Sinbad smiled and said, "Yeah. There are a lot of guests watching and enjoying the Mahrajan. And the citizens are looking forward to it as well. They are really lively! Go on, Alibaba, you should enjoy the festival as much as you can!"

Alibaba walked through the streets, without any of his friends beside him, but he did not care, he was having fun. "Hey, hey!" came a familiar voice, "Bam!" Aladdin said, wearing a _monster_ mask. The blond just looked at the child, not knowing it was his best friend. Taking off the mask, Aladdin asked with a smile, "Hehehe, did I surprise you?"

"What, it's just you Aladdin!" laughed the blond.

Aladdin handed Alibaba a mask like his, saying, "The men of this island told me to wear this mask of the _God of the Southern Sea_. I have one for you, too!"

"Really?" asked Alibaba as he took the mask and put it on his head.

Aladdin blushed as he pointed to some girls approaching him and his blond best friend. "Even the girls have exotic outfits for today," he said.

Chuckling, Alibaba said in response, "That's true!" A masked woman with a red, unkempt yet gorgeous ponytail approached the blond and put a flower-necklace (or lei) around his neck. Alibaba blushed and rubbed his neck as he said, "Ah thanks!" That was when he noticed the two Fanalis females he traveled with were nowhere to be seen. Looking around, he asked out loud, "Eh? Where is Tet? Also, where is Morgiana?"

As he was about to walk off, the masked woman grabbed his arm before removing her mask. It was Tettia. "Hey, Ali. I've been here in front of your gorgeous honey eyes for a while now," she said, sticking out her tongue playfully.

Alibaba's eyes widened and his blush worsened. _W-wow! Tet looks amazing_ , he thought to himself. That was when another red-head young lady walked up, removed her mask and revealed herself to be Morgiana. "They told Tet and I that the young girls have to dress up like this and distribute flowers," she said.

Aladdin ran up to them, gushing with a blush, "Your outfit really suits you, Tet! Same thing with you, Morg!"

Smiling happily, Tettia scooped Aladdin up in a hug, nuzzling her cheek against his. "Really?! You really think that, Laddin," she gushed questioningly. Even though she damn-well knew she looked good. Morgiana also asked the question, "Really?"

Waving his hand in the air in agreement, Alibaba said with an open-mouthed grin, "He's right! It really does suit you, Tet! Morgiana! Wow, Tet, you are so beautiful that I thought you were someone else!" Tettia let Aladdin go and turned away from them, holding her blushing face. "Did I say something bad?" the blond asked the bluenette and other Fanalis. Morgiana shrugged.

Aladdin flailed his arm in the air, pointing towards food. "Hey, hurry up and let's go eat, you three!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Tettia, snapping out of it. They went to get food.

Tora and Marina laughed from the shadows. "I think Alibaba realizes just how much he wants Tet, especially with her dressed like that. Easy access, according to me and Massy," snickered Tora.

"Ew, I did _not_ need to know that! Anyways, can we go dance now?"

"FUCK YEAH! Let's go!" yelled Tora as she and Marina ran off to join in on the dancing.

Sarabi was searching for her queen. "What the hell, I look away for _five_ seconds and Mari disappears!" she hissed to herself as she continued searching. That was when her blue eyes landed on her queen, dancing alone side Tora and other dancers on the stage. Sarabi's eye twitched in anger as she growled out, "What in the hell does she think she's doing?! How many times have I told her _not_ to do this?!"

Sinbad laughed as he not only had a harem around him, since his _wife_ was missing, but he noticed Marina. "Wow, look at Marina go," he mumbled to himself.

As the group of best friends ate, Morgiana explained why she would not be going back to the Dark Continent so soon. "I want to fight together with you three. Please, take me as your companion," the younger Fanalis said, getting on her knees, bowing her head.

"Hey, that's a little too much… as a companion," both the blond and half-Fanalis.

Aladdin smiled and said, "Aren't you glad, Alibaba? How about you, Tet? Morg is happy to be together with us, and she is so reliable!"

"Um… is it okay that I can be your companion?" asked Morgiana.

"Of course," answered Aladdin. "If you want it, then we'll do it. As long as we can be together like we have been until now!"

Alibaba and Tettia looked at one another, smiled, then said in unison, "Yeah, that's right!"

Morgiana stood there, overwhelmed by happiness. As the trio went back to eating, Morgiana went and did something else. She started dancing along with Tora and Marina. The trio's attention was brought to this and Alibaba exclaimed, "You really are beautiful, Morg!" Morgiana smiled. Alibaba looked over at Tettia and smiled widely as he said, "Despite you not dancing, you're gorgeous, Tet. Those clothes _really_ suit you." Upon hearing that, Morgiana became disheartened.

"I ate too much," whined Alibaba.

"Me too," whined Aladdin.

Tettia walked in between the two and said, "This place is a lot quieter and it has a nice, relaxing atmosphere."

Aladdin nodded, "It did become real quiet."

The trio sat down on the beach. "…You know Aladdin, Tet, there is something I want to discuss with you, even on a night like this," said Alibaba.

Tettia leaned back on her hands, tilting her head up to look at the crescent moon. "Me too, Alibaba," replied the young Magi.

Alibaba took in a deep breath before he began, "Aladdin… Tettia… what do you think about Al-Thamen? I don't think I can forgive them, because they made Cassim die so easily and for their own selfish gain. He always though he was trash… and the ones that induced him to believe that were the Al-Thamen. Plus, I cannot forgive myself because I was not able to stop him before the final confrontation…"

Tettia and Aladdin looked at Alibaba with sad, understanding eyes. The half-Fanalis crawled over in front of the blond, she placed her hands on each one of Alibaba's shoulders and looked into his eyes. Staring solemnly back into her crimson eyes, Alibaba continued, "No matter what you did wrong… it is impossible for a person to become trash while he lives. If there are people like that around the world, I want to try and stop them. For that reason… from now on, I will fight…"

"Are you sure?" asked both Tettia and Aladdin, the latter smiling a small smile.

Sighing, he nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure."

Tettia smiled and stood up, brushing the sand off of her skin. "We will fight Al-Thamen together with you as well, Ali," she said, placing a hand on her hip as she looked at Alibaba.

Aladdin giggled and said, "To lead the right kings and to clear the darkness with them. To clear the darkness from the Magi and the kings that were altered by Al-Thamen. I was born for that reason." Alibaba looked at the young Magi in surprised. "I still cannot speak about that in detail. An there is another reliable king that is fighting with the same objective as ours!"

Taking her hair out of its ponytail, Tettia sighed and tousled it around a bit, her hair naturally falling back into it's natural, unkempt way. "That's right. Sinny, aye? Heh, despite this country being a monarchy, the people are all puffed up with pride… because Sinny is an incredible king," she said, smiling up at the moon.

Alibaba rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath about Sinbad. Aladdin looked at him with an amused look, before he said, "Right, Tet. But, I think that Alibaba will become like that, too."

"Eh?" the blond in question asked.

Standing up from the beach, Aladdin walked towards his blond friend, saying, "Didn't you realize it? You, with your beliefs, will stand together with various people against the different paths that will unfold before you. Your fight is the _Rukh's Guidance_ , that is destiny itself. That's why the gaze of destiny, will aim for you and probably continue to attack you… but you will climb over that and, one day… a really distant day in the future…" he placed his hand on Alibaba's shoulder (or close to it), "…you will become king! One of the vanguards that will lead the world towards the future. I'm a Magi. I'm here to guide you there! And, of course, that means I will also be leading Tet there, because she is important to you and I."

"Uhh… and I'm hella stubborn. I would follow you two dorks to the end of the earth, so I have to," she added.

Casting his blue eyes towards her, the young Magi smiled and ran to give her a hug. "Yeah! You really are stubborn, Tet! But, it is something that makes you such a good friend!" he exclaimed.

Hugging him back, Tettia laughed, "Awwww, thank you, Laddin!" The half-Fanalis even picked up the young Magi and swung him around in a big bear-hug.

Alibaba smiled as he looked at Tettia and Aladdin. Suddenly, and seemingly without reason, the blond imagined Tettia doing the same thing but with a red-headed, golden-eyed baby — their baby. He immediately rubbed his eyes, blushing almost. When Tettia noticed this, she put Aladdin down and walked over to Alibaba. "Hey, Ali, you okay?" she asked, gently touching his shoulder.

"I-… I'm not sure…"

Aladdin looked at his two best friends, also determined to get them together (just like Tora), he thought of something. "Hey~! Alibaba, Tet~ remember the day we all met and became friends?" he asked, smiling _innocently_.

"Yeah… why?" asked Tettia.

"Remember when you two tried to explain how to kiss? Now, instead of explaining it, why not just show me," he said in a chipper tone.

The duo's faces erupted in a blush. "W-what?!" they both exclaimed.

Aladdin smiled and asked innocently, "Why don't you two show me how to kiss? Though I am far from being able to do it, it's good to know, right?"

Tettia looked at Alibaba, blushing profoundly. She had been wanting to kiss him again since their first kiss in Amon's Dungeon. "Fine," she said simply, crossing her arms.

"REALLY?!" squeaked Alibaba.

"Yes, really. Come here, Ali~" she said, smiling deviously, pulling him close to her by his rope necklace.

Masrur handed Morgiana a plate and told her to eat. She thanked him and sat down to eat. At a table with Sharrkan, Masrur continued to eat. "Wow~" gushed Sharrkan.

"What is it, Sharrkan?" asked Masrur.

"It's just that… that girl is… you know…" the Heliohapt prince said.

Tora looked up from her plate, a fish's skeleton sticking out of her mouth very much like her husband. "Shark-boy… what the fuck are you talking about?"

"Don't play coy with me! Everyday you practice that hand-to-hand training with such zeal, in other words, you have quite lewd thought about that girl, right?" Sharrkan asked with a huge grin.

Sharrkan's statement had Tora flipping the table and drop-kicking him. The angry purplenette drop-kicked the dark-skinned Heliohapt into the ocean. "FUCK YOU! HOW DARE YOU THINK THAT YOU GODDAMN PERVERT!" she screamed angrily.

"Oh no… he got her mad…" muttered a terrified Ja'far.

"I'm the next one," said a fawning woman. "No, it's me!" exclaimed another one. "Your majesty~~~~" gushed one. "Aaaaaaah~ King Sinbad~~~~" gushed another one. "Let me be next, please!" whined another.

Tora turned towards the woman, cracked her neck and said in a low voice, "Get the _fuck_ away from my best friend's husband or so help me _GOD_ I will kill all you brats!" The harem of women looked at her with weak glares, only to be rewarded with a glare a million times worse than anything they could muster. The women whimpered as the got off Sinbad, many of them running off crying.

Aladdin, Alibaba and Tettia walked up at the wrong time. "Oh shit, who pissed her off?" asked Tettia, then she looked around, remembering Sharrkan being nearby. "Also, where is Master Sharrkan?" Her two best friends hid behind her, cowering in fear of the angry Tora.

"Shark-boy is in the ocean," hissed Tora. "Now can you sit in King DUMBASS's lap before more women show up and try stealing him from you?" she asked angrily.

Tettia stepped closer towards Sinbad, a confused and almost hurt look in her eyes. "You had a harem on you while I was away?" she asked, though smiling slightly.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm her down, Tora grew calmer. Once she was calmed down, the purplenette snickered and pushed Tettia into her king's lap. Whether unfortunately or fortunately, the force of the push had made Tettia and Sinbad kiss for the first time. Everyone stopped and stared at her. "Oops…?" shrugged Tora.

The reason why Tettia had not immediately pulled away was one, she thought is was a dream, two, she was caught by surprise at the soft feeling, and three, her eyes were closed therefore she did not know what her lips were touching. Tettia had expected to have her head be smashed into Sinbad's head, not soft lips on her own. When she cracked open one of her crimson orbs, she noticed a wide-eyed Sinbad, who had a light blush painting his cheeks. It was then that she immediately pulled away, gasping and covering her mouth. Her face was a brighter red than the brightest red tomato in the world. "I-… I-…" she stuttered.

Everyone around them went quite, that was until Marina and Sarabi came up. "WHAT DID WE MISS?!" exclaimed Marina, knowing she missed something important.

Alibaba glared at Sinbad tenfold. Not only did Sinbad spend a lot of time with Tettia, now he took the only thing that the blond had done with Tettia. Oh, he was even more determined to _take and win_ Tettia back from Sinbad.

"You missed the king and queen just gad their first kiss," said a smirking Tora.

"WHAT?!" yelled Marina. Tora only nodded in response. "NO WAY!"


	20. The Kou Empire's Princess Dumbass

**Chapter Twenty: The Kou Empire's Princess Dumbass**

 **A/N: Marina and Sarabi aren't mine. Also, this chapter was fun to write. Especially a pissy Tettia.**

* * *

The purplenette shrugged, still smirking. "Oh yeah, way. They kissed. I pushed Tet into his lap in a rage almost because Shark-boy pissed me off," she said.

Marina gasped loudly, "What did Sharrkan do to piss you off?"

"He asked if I had lewd thoughts about Morgiana… because Tora and I practice with her everyday. Intensely," said Masrur.

"That goddamn retard fucking thought that MY HUSBAND had lewd thoughts about a CHILD because we are training her to fight along side Tet, Babwa and Aladdin!" screamed Tora.

Marina looked around, seemingly looking for Sharrkan. "And where did he end up?" she asked.

Sarabi also looked around as well. "You kicked him somewhere, didn't you, Tora? What did I tell you about doing that?" she asked, trying to kill the joy.

"You aren't my fucking husband, bitch. Therefore, you cannot tell me shit! And don't be a goddamn killjoy like Little Killjoy," Tora said to Sarabi. Then she turned to Marina and replied, "I kicked Shark-boy into the ocean. Where he belongs, he'll be swimming back for a while."

Sinbad looked over Tettia's shoulder to see Alibaba and Aladdin. Chuckling nervously at the fact that everyone had seen him and Tettia kiss, he said, "Ah, you're back, Aladdin, Alibaba, I was waiting for you."

"Seems like you were enjoying kissing Tet a bit too much," mumbled Alibaba.

Tettia blushed heavily. "Well, it's not like that…" she mumbled.

Sinbad smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Can I not throughly enjoy kissing my wife. Especially since it's the first time I've kissed my wife like that. What, do you not like it, Alibaba?" he asked.

"Can we not get hostile? That's my fucking job," Tora said, glaring at Sinbad.

Sinbad laughed, "Okay. No hostility. Eight Generals, assemble, though." The eight generals did as their king asked. Having his arm around his wife's waist, Sinbad said, "I will introduce you to the guardian deities of Sindria, the Eight Generals, because we did not have the chance to introduce everyone to you." He pointed to Ja'far, "This guy is, you know…"

"I was already introduced in Balbadd. And, he's drunk…" muttered Ja'far.

Tettia laughed as Sinbad continued, "He's Ja'far. Normally, he is a parliamentary official. Even if he looks like this, he is strong because he is an expert in a unique assassination technique, so he will be fit to be the next opponent in your training."

Ja'far smiled and sighed, "If you wish that…"

"I want you to teach me that assassination technique, Jaffy," said Tettia.

Sinbad laughed at his wife and continued, pointing at Masrur and Tora, "Masrur is wielding a humongous sword, but he is not suitable to become Tet and Alibaba's master. When he was little, he was a gladiator, but he has not practiced his swordsmanship and since he stopped doing that, he is quite rusty now! And then Tora is lumped in with Masrur because they both add to each other's strength. Tora is just… yeah, she is just herself."

"You got a problem with that, King Moron?! I can still kick your drunk ass into next year!" hissed Tora.

Tettia laughed at her purplenette best friend's statement. The younger Fanalis asked, "What is a _gladiator_?"

"It is a hand-to-hand contest that is really popular in the Laem Empire… I think, but I've only heard about it in through rumors," replied Tettia.

Morgiana looked at Tettia and smiled sweetly. "Oh, thank you, Tet," she thanked.

"No problem, Morg," she winked.

"Did you call me, King Sinbad?" asked a hulking blue-haired giant man as he loomed over Alibaba, Aladdin and Morgiana. The blond, young Magi and young Fanalis looked up with wide eyes.

Sinbad pointed to the giant and said, "One of the Imuchakk warriors of the extreme north's unexplored region, Hinahoho. He has a gigantic physique, but every one of his race is like that, so, don't mind that."

"Can I drink alcohol, Father?" asked one of Hinahoho's presumed children as one grabbed for a cup of alcohol from a plate Ja'far was holding.

Hinahoho grabbed his child's shoulder and replied, "No, you are still too young."

More blue-haired children of Hinahoho ran up, saying, "Food! Food!"

Everyone smiled and Tora nudged the giant's oldest child, saying with a grin, "I can slip ya some alcohol if ya want." She grabbed a handful of the cups of alcohol on Ja'far's plate. "I'll take those, thank you!" the pinkish-red eyed purplenette exclaimed and downed all liquor-filled cups in one gulp.

"Damn, Tora! Save some for the rest of us," exclaimed both Marina and Tettia, laughing.

The purple-haired king laughed as well before he pointed to the dragon. "He is a former soldier of the Partevia Empire, Drakon. He has the appearance of a dragon, but he was _originally_ a human and a sincere man. There is no need to be frightened. He also has a _beautiful_ wife," he said.

Aladdin and Alibaba looked at Drakon and his lovely wife. Aladdin attempted to bolt into the married woman's breasts, until the blond grabbed Aladdin's braid. "You _cannot_ do _that_ to a _married woman_!" exclaimed the blond.

"He's right, Laddin, you can't do that," interjected Tettia.

"Yamraiha from Magnoshutatt," the king said, pointing to the blue-haired sorceress. "Pisti from Artemyra," he said, pointing to a young-looking blonde female standing beside an armored scarlet-haired man. "Spartos from Sasan," Sinbad said, pointing to the scarlet-haired man. Sinbad looked around for Sharrkan, seemingly forgetting what Tora had done to the perverted-thinking prince of Heliohapt. "Where is Sharrkan?" he asked.

Almost as if on cue, the white-haired, dark-skinned male came up the stairs, soaking wet. Water dripped from his hair, clothes, weapon, pretty much from everywhere. Panting, out of breath from the swim, he said, "I-… I-I'm… right… here!"

"Ah! There you are, Sharrkan. This is Sharrkan from Heliohapt," the drunken king said, laughing at Sharrkan's soaking attire. "They are members of the royal family of my allied countries that I had to give refuge to, for one reason or another, or people who cannot remain in their country for personal reasons and now live in Sindria. Alibaba, they probably are people that resemble your situation," Sinbad said, looking back at the blond and tightening his grip on Tettia's waist, laughing at her reddening face.

"Excuse me?! What about Abi-poo and me?!" exclaimed Marina, puffing out her cheeks in a childish manner.

Sinbad looked at the golden-haired queen and blinked slowly for a few brief moments before saying, "Oh, and this is Marina and Sarabi. They aren't a part of my Generals, but they've been helping my kingdom along for quite a while now."

Pisti grabbed Spartos's sleeve and pointed to a group of women. "Spartos! Let's go play with everyone else!" she exclaimed.

"I cannot stomach such vulgar games," replied the scarlet-haired Sasan.

Tettia smiled and got up from Sinbad's lap, going to grab the women and lead them to Spartos. "Don't say that~! Here you go, Sparti," she said in a sing-song voice, pushing the women towards him.

Pisti made Spartos sit down and he had his hands up in defense, "Spare me," he said.

Tettia snickered, "You have to accept my advice!" Spartos sighed and let it happen. With her job done, Tettia went back to Sinbad, standing beside him instead of sitting back down in his lap. Sinbad, Drakon and Hinahoho had a nice little conversation. Nice things happened and everyone was happy throughout the night.

The night of the banquet passed. Tettia was back in her normal clothes (before anybody else who dressed up returned to their normal clothing) and was helping Alibaba out with clean-up. "Well, that sure was fun, eh?" she asked, looking towards the blond from over her shoulder.

Alibaba laughed to himself. "Yeah, it was. I enjoyed it, a lot. You really did look gorgeous, too," he said.

"Why thank you, Ali. It means a lot coming from you," she said, blushing slightly.

"Alibaba! Tet! I have something to tell you," said Sinbad, walking up to the duo.

Tettia looked towards the king and hummed, "Yeah? What is it, Sinny?"

"It's about the Kou Empire. During the negotiations, I took a request from the Empire. That is, to make one of their princes study abroad in Sindria," Sinbad replied.

"Yeah, and?" questioned Tettia, putting her hands on her hips. Aladdin and Morgiana came up out of nowhere and stood beside her and Alibaba.

Some of the Eight Generals, if not all, came to stand beside and slightly behind Sinbad. "That prince will come soon. It is an arrangement for the friendship of both countries," he explained.

Tora came up with her arms crossed, smiled and said, "He is the prince of the country that occupied Balbadd, so it could be difficult for you, Babwa. But for now, we want you to carefully supervise him."

"Okay," replied the blond, nodding in agreement.

Aladdin tilted his head in confusion. "A prince from the Kou Empire…"

"Hmm… wonder what kind of person he is," Tettia hummed.

"Ah, Sin, about the Empire. Did you talk with that person? I mean, Princess Ren Kougyoku who we met in Balbadd. At least it seemed like she… umm, how do I say this without pissing off Tet and Tora… _yearned_ for you," said Ja'far.

Tettia growled. " _Jaffy_ … what did I tell you about saying that—"

"Ja'far! What the hell, dude," interrupted Tora, glaring harshly at the white-haired man.

Sinbad smiled at his _wife's_ reaction at the mention of the brat who clearly had a thing for him. "Really? What makes you say that, Ja'far?"

"The master did it again," sighed Yamraiha.

Marina laughed, "Of course he did! It's the only thing he's good at!"

Sharrkan smiled and said, "The Kou Empire, huh… I'm so jealous of his majesty. I don't like the Kou Empire that much, but it is full of beautiful woman as the rumors say."

"About that princess, I tried to play with her for an evening as well," Sinbad said.

Both Tettia and Tora immediately lunged towards Sharrkan; the half-Fanalis reached him first, grabbed him by his clothes and lifted him off of the ground. The former of the duo growling lowly and darkly at her teacher. "You ever say that again, and I will _break_ your _fucking_ neck. **_NOTHING_** about the Kou Empire radiates _'Beautiful Women Here'_! That brat is anything _but_ beautiful; she's a childish woman who tries to hit on Sinbad, when it is painfully obvious that he. is. not. interested!"

Sharrkan whimpered in a terrified manner, "Okay, okay! Please don't do that. Put me down."

Tora glared at him, but placed a hand on Tettia's left shoulder. "Put the wuss down, Tet," she said.

Tettia did as her best friend asked. "Fine," she grumbled. She turned to Sinbad and grabbed his clothes in a tight grasp. "As for you… what did you do?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Ja'far dropped the plate he was holding. "I-it cannot be… it cannot be… Sin… you didn't lay your hands on a royal princess… without permission, RIGHT!?" he exclaimed. "When will you stop playing around!? If you are imprudent, there could be a war between our countries!"

"Plus, you have a _wife_ , King Moron! You shouldn't fucking touch another woman. If you did, I swear to God, I will hurt you," growled Tora, glaring at him with her arms still crossed.

"I know that. I went with her for diplomatic reasons, you know! It was all for Sindria and Balbadd's people's sake. Like I would behave in such a manner that would bring us only disaster!" exclaimed Sinbad, touching Tettia's hand, which had her releasing his clothes.

Tora rolled her eyes and sighed, " _Right_."

Ja'far sighed out relieved, "Oh, thank God."

Looking at Tettia and pulling her close to him, Sinbad said, "Obviously I didn't do anything to her. Look at this gorgeous woman I have, she's more gorgeous than anyone I've ever met."

Alibaba rolled his eyes and growled something under his breath, then glared at the king. Meanwhile, Tettia was blushing and covering her face as he said that. "S-Sinny…" she mumbled. Kissing her forehead, Sinbad smirked.

 _What am I going to do? How am I going get her to notice me and my affections?_ thought the blond to himself. Alibaba's honey-brown eyes tried to bored holes into King Sinbad, but it was not working. The blond hated the way Sinbad's hand hung on Tettia waist/small of her back, gently and subtly stroking; however, the _subtle_ stroking was not so subtle to the blond. For some reason, Alibaba's golden eyes caught everything that the king's hand would do.

The sun had risen and in a small training facility, Alibaba, Sharrkan and Tettia were training. Alibaba and Sharrkan were going at it when suddenly Amon transferred over to the blond's new sword. "Amon… moved to Balbadd's royal sword!" exclaimed the blond.

"He finally moved, huh? Finally, my strict guidance show its results, I guess," said Sharrkan, letting his guard down.

Tettia snickered and lunged towards her teacher, silently drawing her daggers as she neared him. "Congrats, Ali! But, master, you left yourself open!" she exclaimed, attempting to attack Sharrkan.

Sword clashed with daggers as Sharrkan deflected her attack without turning around. "Good try Tet, but not good enough. Now, let Alibaba come at me with that," he said.

"Eh?" questioned both the blond and red-head.

"Let's make Amon's sword debut. Alibaba, you can perform a _weapon changing Djinn Equip_ , right? Weren't you boasting yesterday that Amon's sword can cut anything?" the dark-skinned male asked.

Alibaba smiled, maybe this would get Tettia's attention. "But even if it is you, a metal vessel versus a household vessel is unfair…" he said.

"I will not activate my household vessel. I will fight you just with my swordsmanship alone! Tet, sit back and watch this amazing fight!"

Tettia huffed, crossed her arms, walked off to the side and sat down. "GET ON WITH IT, BASTARDS!" she yelled irritatedly.

 _This is the perfect way to get Tet's attention on me more than Sinbad!_ Alibaba thought to himself as he Djinn Equipped Amon's sword.

"FIGHT!" exclaimed Tettia.

Alibaba sprinted towards Sharrkan, eyeing his sword. _Amon's sword if too dangerous. I could cut him in two. I should just aim for his sword and cut it!_ he thought to himself as he raised his sword over his head and aimed for Sharrkan's sword. The duo's master's sword clashed with Amon's sword and did not cut through his sword. Sharrkan deflected the blow, which left Alibaba wide-eyed. _He took the blow with the side of the sword and changed the momentum without stopping it!_

Alibaba kept going forward from the force. "What the hell is that swordsmanship? You should fight me seriously," called Sharrkan. Tettia snickered to herself as she continued to watch as Alibaba continued to try and attack their master. The blond could not land a single hit. Soon, Alibaba fell to the ground, panting. "I'm a little disappointed, the skills of the guy using the incredible Amon's sword are not in par with it, huh," said Sharrkan. Alibaba looked a little down, Sharrkan noticed this and continued, "Don't feel down, I'm not saying that I don't expect anything from you. Rather, I should say that you have a good sense! The peculiar sword style that they taught you in the Royal Palace is quite good! …That's why I was surprised when I saw your Djinn Equipment. Are you really okay with using that sword? Wouldn't you rather have easy to use weapons, like Tet's daggers?" Sharrkan asked that, pointing to the large sword.

"Eh…?!"

Smiling to himself, Sharrkan said, "What…? It seems you are not aware of it… there is a bette way to do the weapon changing Djinn Equipment, you know?"

Alibaba gasped, eyes widening, "Another way… of doing Djinn Equipment you say?"

The bell rang and Tettia sprang off of the ground as Sharrkan said, "Ah, it seems we have finished for today. Okay, the training ends here. Let's go get something to drink, Alibaba!"

"I'm going too, ya know," said Tettia.

Sharrkan looked at her, "And how do you intend on…" she raised her eyebrows in a _It's me we're talking about here_ kind of way. "Never mind. Sure, why not."

"Wha? Um… teach me about the other ways to perform Djinn Equipment, master…" said Alibaba.

"You stupid fool! We are done for today, we will do it tomorrow, okay?"

Alibaba's face fell as he exclaimed, "Let's continue, PLEASE!"

Tettia wrapped her arm around Alibaba's left arm, smiling cutely. "No! C'mon Ali, let's go out for a drink!"

"Tet gets it! I follow the doctrine of not working outside my time! Let's goooooooooo drinking!" exclaimed Sharrkan, punching the air.

The Kou Empire's envoy finally arrived in Sindria, during the midst of everyone's training. Everyone waited at the docks. Tettia conversing with Marina and Tora. Tettia's mouth hung open, as she was mid-sentence, when the prince walked towards them. He had dark blue hair, with blue eyes, the left eye being a paler shade of blue and a noticeable scar adored his face. The prince was at least two inches taller than Tettia, who was five-foot-three-inches.

The prince walked by Alibaba. _He is the prince of the Kou Empire?_ the blond thought. Stopping in front of the king and queen of Sindria, he clasped his hand together at chest level and said, "I'm the fourth prince of the Kou Empire, Ren Hakuryuu."

Sinbad smiled and said, "I heard about you from his majesty the Emperor, I and my wife welcome you."

"Wife? I heard you had no wife," replied Hakuryuu.

Tettia smiled and waved briefly. "Hello, Haku. My name is Tettia, but please, call me Tet," she spoke with a sweet smile.

Laughing, Sinbad said, "Well, now you know that I do have a wife."

Hakuryuu looked at her. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Queen Tettia," he said then bowed towards Sinbad. "I thought of meeting you even if my father did not command me."

"It's an honor. I will patiently hear what you have to say to me." Sinbad noticed an evil-aura-emitting princess behind Hakuryuu and asked, "By the way, didn't I already meet the person behind you?"

Ja'far gasped, "Ah! P-princess Ren Kougyoku…"

"Eh, the princess who had an interest in King Sinbad that you were talking about earlier, right? Umm… why is she here? Does she not know that King Sinbad has a wife and it is impolite to chase down a married man?" asked Pisti.

"I knew it, that incident happened… during his stay in the Kou Empire…!?" asked Ja'far.

Tettia crossed her arms and glared as the princess neared her king. "Thanks for what happened the other time… I was really happy to have met you again," she said with a smile. A smile that Sinbad's queen wanted to break.

"It is an honor for me as well," Sinbad spoke, holding out his hand.

"They are just acting normal. Good, because Tettia sure looks like she's about to lay a beat down on Kougyoku if she got any closer to King Sinbad," said Pisti.

Tora sighed, relieved that her king did not do anything stupid while he was alone in the Kou Empire. "Thank _God_ … it seems like everything is o-fucking-kay."

Sinbad smiled at the bratty princess and said, "We didn't see each other for such a long time, since Balbadd! By the way, there wasn't even a single occasion to meet you while I was in the Empire, I'm really glad to have met you again."

The brat shook in rage and growled through her teeth. "There wasn't even a single occasion to meet me, you say…!?"

Tora facepalmed. "Mama don't like where this is going," she muttered. Tettia growled and her eyes glowed a demonic red as she growled, "Bitch, touch my husband and I will fucking cut you down where you stand!"

Yeah, the bratty princess just turned stupid because she drew her blade and attacked Sinbad, cutting a bit of his tied-back hair. "Damn you, Sinbad! I though that you would apologize and, for your country's sake, you would choke back your tears and yet…" she trailed off, reaching for her metal vessel hairpin. "I cannot forgive you after all…!" Equipping her Djinn, the princess continued to scream, "Fight to the death with me, Sinbad! You deserve death for the brutal act of defiling the body of a young maiden!"

While everyone looked at Sinbad, shocked, Ja'far and Tora proceeded to throttle their king. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" they yelled.

"N-nothing," retorted Sinbad.

Tettia stepped forward, towards the princess. Tora immediately stopped throttling Sinbad and sighed, face-palming yet again. "Oh _fucking_ ** _great_** … now that dumb bitch went and pissed off Tet," she said.

Calmly yet threateningly, Tettia walked up to the princess and viciously grabbed the forearm of the hand holding the Djinn Equipped sword. "What's the meaning of this, bitch? You think that you can just come into _my and my husband's_ kingdom and proclaim that he _defiled_ your maiden body? I suggest you do a fact-check, Missy, because I will have you know that Sinbad would _never,_ I repeat, _NEVER_ look at or even want to defile your disgusting, low-bred body," she growled, tightening her grip on Kougyoku's forearm. "Now, I suggest you put your goddamn sword down before I use it to skin your own body."

"TETTIA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" screamed a worried Ja'far.

"I am taking care of this dumb bitch, Jaffy," she said in a chipper voice as she looked over her shoulder at him. Turning her gaze back towards the princess, she twisted the princess's arm painfully. "Now, are you going to listen to me or will I have to resort to killing you here in front of everyone, you daughter of a whore?"

Dropping her sword, Kougyoku began weeping. Both from being threatened and because she could not explain why she said what she had. Ka Koubun jumped in and sighed, "Sorry to intrude. It is too harsh for her to tell the whole story from her mouth… let me continue."

The Queen of Sindria growled, her patience basically worn thin. "Your fucking right you will. You both will be in serious shit if you don't explain why you come into OUR country and accuse my husband of defiling her _disgusting_ body," she said darkly.

"How dare you call my princess disgusting! You are—" the attendant began only to be cut off.

"Boy, I suggest you not fucking insult her right now. She will _not_ hesitate to send you and that little cunt princess to hell in an instant," interjected Tora, shaking her head.

Ka Koubun grumbled something, to which had Tettia cracking her neck. "Wanna run that by me again, _Dead Man_?" she asked threateningly.

He cleared his throat and began the brat's spun tale, "This is a testimony from the princess herself… and there are also other witnesses. I beg of you to take this as the truth. According to her, this is what happened. The last night of King Sinbad's stay in the Kou Empire, we offered him a goodbye banquet. The following morning, in her bedroom, when she looked around her… King Sinbad was naked in her bed, his arm around her waist. Her clothes were still on, but his were not! He had the indecency to try and cover up his inappropriate actions! If you still insist that nothing happened after this, then _please_ give us an explanation King Sinbad!"

The blood drained from everyone's face — save for Tettia, who's face was boiling with rage. Sinbad held his hands in front of him, trying to defend himself. Kougyoku held a knife to her throat, screaming as she cried, "Damn you, Sinbad! You've dishonored the body of an imperial princess! Fight with me! If you refuse, I will kill myself! If you accept, I will kill you and die!"

"Fucking do it then, you pathetic excuse of a bitch. Not even the female dogs want to be lumped together with you! At least they have a reason to live! You're just a fuck-up who deserves to die!" yelled Tettia, gritting her teeth.

As everyone had their own conversation, Tettia whispered to her husband, "Did you actually do anything with her? Because please tell me no."

Sinbad closed his eyes as he tried to remember. "Sorry, but I don't remember anything. I'm the High King of the Seven Seas, but I would _never_ commit the mistake of being drunk and doing that to a girl! _Well_ , I cannot say that it has never happened in the past, but… this time, I did not do it. My opponent is a princess. She is a girl you cannot lay your hand on unless you promise to marry her, but I've never had any intention to marry a woman in my life…" he whispered.

"You mean besides me?" whisper-asked a smiling Tettia.

Sinbad smiled and ruffled her hair, in the midst of all that was going down. "Correct, besides you. If this weren't just a prank, I would definitely not mind _actually_ being married to you," he whispered.

Tettia shrugged and replied to him, "Maybe in a different time we could have truly ended up together. And not just me using you to make a certain blond so jealous he admits how he feels."

"Most definitely. I would not have a _single_ problem with marrying you if we had met when I was a teen. We probably would have hit it off great," he said to her, kissing her forehead.

She blushed and replied, "Yeah, most definitely. I'm sure you were just as attractive when you were a teen as you are now."

"Oh, I would have blown your mind. In _many_ different ways," he murmured to her.

Tettia's face turned even more red at the emphasis her husband had put on _many_. " _Ooooh_ …" she mumbled. Sinbad smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing an endearing kiss against her left temple, reveling in her quiet giggles. Alibaba glared so intensely at Sinbad, if only looks could have killed.

"WILL EVERYONE SHUT THE _FUCK_ UP?!" screamed Tora, a vein in her head throbbed as everyone's voices overlapped.

Sharrkan hummed as he said, "That night, the King wasn't drunk."

"Yeah. In order to be sure, we made sure he returned _alone_ to his room," added Spartos.

Nodding, and pulling away from Tettia, Sinbad said, "And I went to sleep like that. I did not do anything to you."

"Then why was I in your room the following morning!?" whined the brat.

Sinbad shrugged. "Sorry, princess… but I don't have any recollection of that."

"Then why were you naked when you woke up!? Are you saying that you naturally remove your clothes while you are sleeping!?" she again whined.

Tettia laughed. "Yeah, actually. It happens often. And I should know, I share a bed with him," she said, poking Sinbad's chest.

"STOP FOOLING AROUND!" yelled the brat as she picked up her sword again and stabbed the wood behind Sinbad's head. "DO YOU STILL INTEND TO FEIGN IGNORANCE?! SHOULD I TELL YOU MY VERSION THEN…!?"

Grabbing Kougyoku's wrist, Tettia twisted it in an even more painful way that what she had done earlier. "Give. me. that. goddamn. sword. NOW," she hissed, snatching the sword and hairpin from the brat's hand before releasing the brat's wrist.

Princess Brattyoku told her version of the story and Tettia pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily. "Alright, let me get this straight: after she was swooning over my _fucking_ ** _husband,_** she was walking to her room and was knocked out. The next time she woke up, Princess Brattyoku was next to my naked husband. HOWEVER, she were fully clothed. Right? Is that what you're telling me?" she questioned.

"What are you trying to say…?" asked Ja'far.

"Let's just say that… King Sinbad secretly noticed Princess Kougyoku during the banquet. Let's also say that, in order to destroy all the evidence, he made the princess faint and after that, committed the evil deed!" exclaimed Ka Koubun.

"YOU ARE THE WORST!" exclaimed Sharrkan, Yamraiha, Pisti and Spartos.

"You are the worst after all," Ja'far simply said.

Sinbad was disheartened. "You should believe in your king. Honestly, you listen to him and then say whatever you want… do you really think that I would commit such a mistake because of alcohol during diplomatic negotiations!?"

Everyone dead-panned, even Tora. "Yes," they all said. Ja'far continued, "We respect you from the bottom of our hearts, but we are completely aware of your bad habit of being an alcoholic. How many times up until now, because we went along with your mismanagement of alcohol so many times. In a village we stayed in during our journey, in the morning after the banquet, you had many local wives… and even in Balbadd, if you hadn't been drunk, they would not have stolen the metal vessels from you and that incident would never have happened."

Alibaba and Tettia sighed, "I see…" The half-Fanalis moved to stand beside Alibaba, even hiding behind him slightly. The blond smiled triumphantly as he wrapped his arms protectively around Tettia.

"Even Alibaba… no, not my wife, too," Sinbad said, deflated. "That's all true, but I didn't do that this time! Believe me in me, I beg of you!"

"I cannot believe in you…" said Ja'far.

"Because it happens every time…" said Masrur.

" _Every_ fucking _time_!" emphasized Tora.

Spartos sighed, "The complaints coming from girls molested by you when you were drunk never come to an end."

Smiling brightly, Pisti said, "That's right! The other day, you molested a very old lady!"

"To be honest, he did the same thing to me once…" Yamraiha said.

"WHA… What did you say?!" asked Sharrkan.

Sinbad looked at everyone, who held a blank stare at him. Ja'far's, Masrur's, and Tora's gazes holding almost malicious anger towards him. Everyone exclaimed that they could not believe the words of a drunkard. Sinbad was disheartened.

"Have you finished your poor excuses, King Sinbad?" asked Ka Koubun as he walked towards them. "You laid your hands on a princess's body after all. In that case… in order to take responsibility, I don't think you have any other choice but to marry the princess!"

Tettia's eyes glowed demonically again and she stepped forwards, taking the attendant by his clothes. Bringing him close to her face, she said in a deadly serious tone, " _Marry_ , you say?"

"Y-yes. I-if he acts like that towards the princess and he promises to become a married couple, her h-honor will not suffer a-any damage. Con-considering that he i-is the High King of th-the Seven S-seas Alliance… ev-even our Emperor will not have any p-problem with g-givign Princess K-Kougyoku to him," he stuttered, trying to sound stern, despite his face being close to Sinbad's queen's face.

Laughing darkly, Tettia growled out, " _Yeeeeaaaaahhhhh_ … no. I'm going to tell you _exactly_ why this is complete bullshit. It is an elaborate plan set up by you, Ka Cuntbun, so that your goddamn precious _princess_ could get what she wants. And let me tell you something right here, right now. Life is _not_ fair; Brattyoku will never get my husband. Your little story would have been more believable had you stripped Princess Brattyoku down, but guess what: you didn't. Biggest flaw in your bullshit story. I am _absolutely_ sure that when a couple of people have sex, both their clothes come off. Especially when they have sex at night. But, considering that she had her clothes _ON_ when she woke up, that is evidence enough to prove that Sinbad did not force sex onto the unconscious princess. BECAUSE, Let me tell you that once a limp body's clothes are removes, you cannot get them on easily. Now how about you take your lying, pathetic ass and your shitty princess back to the goddamn Kou Empire before I make flags out of your bodies! DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND. ME?!"

Everyone looked at Tettia with their jaws dropped. "What just happened?" everyone asked.

Letting go of Ka Koubun, Tettia threw him to the ground. Looming over him, the half-Fanalis glared down at him with her arms crossed. "So, are you and that bitch going to leave now that I figured out your plan, or am I going to have to get more violent than I already have been?" she hissed. Just as the attendant opened his mouth to say something, she thrusted the brat's sword downwards with such force, the stone beneath it cracked, which she did right next to the attendant. "The next handful of fucking words that come from your horse-shit-eating mouth better be, _'Sorry for the trouble, we shall be taking our leave. Goodbye.'_ , or else you're gonna die…" her eyes narrowed to a fine point, " _Today_."

Ka Koubun gulped as he looked up at Tettia in horror. Never before had he been so terrified. Standing up, he drew his sword. Tettia had full intent to kill in her eyes, and she was fixing to attack, until Hakuryuu knocked the sword from Ka Koubun's hands. Getting on his knees, he bowed towards Tettia and Sinbad. "King Sinbad, Queen Tettia. This turmoil was caused by the misconduct from the people of my country. I ask for your forgiveness of the rudeness of my fellow travelers as a representative of the Empire. They should not have tried to ruin your seemingly perfect relationship with your obviously loyal wife. But, the important objective of my study abroad here is totally different, therefore… I beg of you both to allow me to stay here," Hakuryuu begged.

Tettia's scary and almost assassin-like intent to kill was quelled at Hakuryuu's simple act. "O-of course. You have our permission, right, Sinny?"

"Yes," he said with a smile.

Ka Koubun fell to his knees and his princess comforted him. Ja'far spit at him and Tora did the same thing, adding, "I fucking told you not you, fucking idiot!"

Hakuryuu walked away. Ja'far asked Sinbad, "Are you sure about giving them permission?"

"Yeah. I have a feeling that the prince will not return until he accomplishes his objective. It seems he is thinking about something…" said the purple-haired King.

Tettia had walked over to Aladdin and Alibaba, wrapping her arms around their shoulders, she conversed with them, until Hakuryuu walked by. "Morg is going to look so cute with him," she said.

Alibaba and Aladdin laughed. "Kinda like how you and a certain somebody are going to look in a short while?" asked the young Magi, smiling at the two.

"Hush you," mumbled a blushing Tettia, ruffling the bluenette's hair.

He giggled cutely and said, "But it's true! Soon, Tet, I promise!"

"But… what about Sinny?" she asked, pulling Aladdin off to the side.

"Well, you both know each other's feelings, right?"

"Well, yeah, kinda just figured it out not even an hour ago, Laddin."

"Then, you both have agreed that this is nothing more than just a prank. I have a feeling that if you had known him since he was about Alibaba's age, you and he would have a better chance of getting together. And let me tell you that I think Alibaba is close to telling you his true feelings, I'm not sure how much longer he can see you having lovey-dovey moments with Sinbad."

Tettia blushed. "You think?"

"I know," winked the young Magi with a smile.


	21. Alibaba's Plan

**Chapter Twenty-One: Alibaba's Plan for Tettia's Affection**

* * *

A few days passed since the whole ordeal, with Kougyoku coming to Sindria just to accuse Sinbad of sexually assaulting her, was resolved and she left with her attendant. At first, Kougyoku suggested that she stay, to keep an eye on Hakuryuu, but Tettia avidly protested against that and went so far as to threaten the life of the brat once again. Tettia said that she would not hesitate to kill the princess and her lying attendant if they remained in her kingdom, and boy did that have them running with their tails between their legs. The half-Fanalis also said that if the Kou Empire came knocking on Sindria's door wanting a fight because of she had said to the princess, she would start a one-person war against the Empire and _win_ hands down.

Alibaba was walking around thinking to himself how in the hell he was going to Tettia's attention away from Sinbad and back onto himself. That was when an idea hit him: _I CHALLENGE TORA!_ he thought **brilliantly** to himself. As he wrung his hands together, he walked through the palace in search of the purplenette. "Let's see if Tet can still direct her attention more towards Sinbad than me after this," he said to himself.

* * *

Marina and Tora were laughing with each other. "Oh my god, can we just talk about Baba's face a few days ago? I can't get over it!" laughed the golden-haired woman.

Tora laughed so hard, and hysterically, that she fell over. "OH MY FUCKING GOD! _YES_! He was _sooooooooo_ **fucking** pissy at King Moron! Especially when him and Tet kissed!"

"Hahaha! Yeah! You know he's gonna confess soon!" laughed Marina, helping her purple-haired pinkish-red eyed friend up. "Speaking of Tet, where is she?"

Getting up from the floor, Tora noticed a certain blond and smiled evilly. "Oh, Tet? I'm sure she's having some _fun_ with King Moron! I walked by his chambers awhile ago and I heard some noises, like muffled noises of some sort," she said, raising her voice slightly so that Alibaba could hear her from down the hall.

That was also with the navy-haired Kou Empire prince walked by and heard what the purplenette had said. "Really? Because Ja'far just sent me word that Kin—" he began, but was cut off.

Tora had quickly bolted to the young prince and slapped her hands over his mouth. "Hey, shut up here, Haku! Play along," she whispered.

Hakuryuu looked at her, all sorts of confused. "What do you mean by that, Tora?" he asked quietly through her hand.

"Uhhhh, well, you see… Tettia isn't _really_ married to King Sinbad. It is just an elaborate plan to get Alibaba to admit his _obvious_ feelings for Tet. Just play along for fuck's sake," she sighed and whispered.

"Oh… I found King Sinbad and Queen Tettia to be a rather cute couple," he replied almost saddened by the revelation.

The purplenette sighed, "Yeah, but she has stronger feelings for Blondie McDumbass over there. She has more chemistry with him, too. So, please just play along, Haku."

Hakuryuu smiled as Tora removed her hand. "I will. I understand that once you like someone, you cannot really change your feelings," he replied.

"Yeah! You understand. Now, play along in: three, two… one…" she trailed off in a whisper then continued in her normal voice, "Yeah, sorry about that. I think Sarabi gave Ja'far the wrong information. King Moron is more than a _bit_ preoccupied at the moment. Right, Mari?"

Marina laughed from a few doors down, where she and Tora were originally. "Yeah! Before Sin the Perv got busy, he told us to not bother him and Tet for a while," she laughed.

"Mhmm! So, how about you come with us Hakuryuu?" asked a smiling Tora.

Hakuryuu held up his hands, "No, thank you. I will just go back to my room."

"Okay!" she smiled.

From down the hall, an angry Alibaba walked towards Tora and Marina. "Hey! Tora!" he called.

Tora smiled. "Yes Babwa?" It was just then that Tettia walked around the corner closest to Tora and Marina, her hair looking like she had just gotten out of bed, or just got done doing something inappropriate with the aforementioned King. Oddly enough, the redhead was not wearing what would be perceive as appropriate; she had removed a few removable layers of her skin-tight skirt and showed off a lot more of her legs. "Perfect fucking timing, Tet," she muttered with a smile. Turning towards the crimson-haired Fanalis, the purplenette asked with a toothy grin, "Hey lover-girl! You and King Moron done screwing around now?"

Tettia ruffled her hair, looking sleepily at her purplenette best friend. "Wha?" she questioned sleepily. It took the freshly-woken up Tettia a few moments to grasp what Tora had meant. She gasped and added, "Oh! Sorry, I guess I'm kinda drained. We had a lot of _fun_."

Alibaba growled dangerously at the thought of Sinbad touching Tettia in an intimate way. The dangerousness of his aura was momentarily quelled when he took in Tettia's appearance, as he came to stand beside Tora. The way one of the straps keeping her top up fell off her shoulder, the way her skirt now had become shorter and clung to her figure, it all had him highly enticed. His mouth seemingly watered. _Why must she be like that now of all times?!_ thought a mentally drooling Alibaba.

Smiling at his obvious reaction, Tora crossed her arms. "What do you want, Babwa?" she asked.

"I… umm… well…" he stumbled over his words, his golden eyes unable to look away from Tettia.

Smiling at Tora, Marina leaned on the shorter redhead's shoulder. "Hey, Tet, is it me or does Alibaba look like he's sick? I mean, look at his face, it's so red! He needs some care. Go take him back to his room and help him," she said with a grin.

"Well, I mean, he does look like he may have a fever," the half-Fanalis said. They payed little to no attention to the equally as blushing Hakuryuu, who was not used to a woman exposing herself in such a way as a method of sleeping. Yes, he knew that Tettia had just woken up instead of what Alibaba was thinking — though, had he not been clued in to the prank, the navy-haired prince would have thought what the blond was currently thinking.

Marina and Tora smiled at one another behind Tettia's head and they both pushed their redhead best friend towards the blond. "Well, go tend to your best friend, Tet! We'll be sure to let Sinbad know that you're taking care of Alibaba," they both said with a grin.

Tettia was pushed into Alibaba and the blond caught her. "Okay…?" she questioned. "C'mon Ali, back to your room," she said, grabbing his hand and walking away.

Once they were out of sight, Marina and Tora squealed in happiness. "OHHHHH! This is soooooo exciting! I think this calls for some candy!"

"YES!" exclaimed Tora. "Fuck me UP with some candy! Thanks for playing along, Haku! You can come to King Moron with us, if you want."

Hakuryuu nodded, his blush dying down. "I think I will," he said.

* * *

Alibaba was taken aback as Tettia dragged him to his room. "Well then, looks like I'm taking care of you all day," she hummed. "Not gonna lie, it'll be a change from being with Sinny all day, not that I mind much either way."

The blond blushed. "O-okay… I'm glad you're spending time with me. Instead of spending all your damn time with King Sinbad," he mumbled.

Looking over her shoulder, Tettia smiled, "You're so jealous of my husband. Let me tell you that Sinny has been taking _wonderful_ care of _Alibaba Park_ — oh wait, it's _Sinbad Park_ now, isn't it?"

He growled lowly, "Just wait until we get to my room. I'll show you…"

"Hmm? What was that, handsome?" she asked, stopping in front of his door. The blond looked at Tettia up and down before groaning; opening the door, Alibaba pushed the older half-Fanalis into his room. As the door gently closed itself, Tettia found herself pinned to the nearby wall. " _Ooooh_ … okay then. That's how it's gonna be? Ali, what are you doing?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows together, feigning confusion.

"You know exactly what I am doing, Tet," he replied, caressing her cheek.

Tettia rolled her eyes, she sighed out loud; splaying her hand flat against his chest, she leaned in close to his ear. "Alibaba," she breathed out. His breath hitched as she giggled and continued, "Get on the bed."

The young prince was being pushed towards his bed, when the back of his knees hit the bed, he fell to the bed. Grabbing the Fanalis's wrist, Alibaba successfully had Tettia falling on top of him. "Well, we're on the bed. What now, Tet?" he asked with a smirk.

"You're a naughty little prince, Alibaba. If you haven't forgotten: I'm married to Sinbad."

The smirk on his face grew wider. "Oh, really? If you were always married to Sinbad, then why was I your first kiss?" he asked.

Tettia sat upright and looked down at him, since she was straddling him because of the tumble onto the bed. "You sneaky little bastard. You were my first kiss because, as I've said many times, I thought we were going to die! I love my husband deeply, but for God's sake, I wasn't gonna die without having my first kiss," she said, once again splaying her hand against his clothed chest.

Alibaba's hands itched to grab the young woman's sides, gently of course; he just wanted to touch her. In a more intimate than Sinbad could have ever. "Oh really. So you didn't care if I wasn't your _husband_ ," he hissed.

"Well, I mean. I won't lie and say I don't find you _insanely_ attractive, Alibaba. Oh, if only I was yours… the things I could do to you," she said with a devious glimmer in her eyes.

 _Fuck it, going for it,_ thought the blond as he placed one of his hands on the small of Tettia's back. "Is that right?" he asked, propping himself up with his other arm.

Tettia looked down at Alibaba and bit her lower lip. "Oh God you'd better believe it, Ali," she said lowly, leaning closer to him. "Ya know, there is something I've wanted to do since Amon's Dungeon."

Alibaba leaned closer to her and smirked. "And what would that be?" he asked.

She cupped his face, looked him in the eye and said, "Alibaba, you know exactly what I mean."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," he replied.

Rolling her eyes, Tettia leaned in closer to his face. "Shut up and kiss me, Alibaba," she spoke, pulling him into a quite heated kiss. It had been a long time coming. Almost immediately, Alibaba kissed her back, tangling a hand in her hair, the hand on the small of her back pulled her closer. Tettia made a small noise into the kiss as she was pulled closer to the blond, her hands tangling themselves in Alibaba's soft golden locks.

This kiss was much more _electrifying_ than the first kiss they had ever shared, it was also obviously highly anticipated. They were both really into the kiss; it lasted for minutes. The only reason the kiss had ended was because they both needed air. Being the first one to pull away from the kiss, Tettia took in a deep breath and just looked at Alibaba. "Well… that was…"

"…Intense?" finished the blond.

Smiling, Tettia kissed his forehead and said, "Yeah. Very intense. But, God, I needed that."

Alibaba wanted to say _How do you think I feel?_ but he refrained from saying that. He did not know how to tell her his feelings, especially since she was _married_ to the King who was letting him and Aladdin stay in his kingdom. _But, soon, she shall know my feelings and I don't give a damn if she is married or not! She needs to know!_ he thought to himself, as he looked at Tettia above him.

"What did you go silent for? Stunned by my beauty or something?" asked a chuckling Tettia.

The blond smirked before pulling her into another, shorter kiss. "But of course I am," he said under his breath.

"What was that, Ali?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Nothing, Tet," he mumbled.

Tettia rolled her crimson eyes. "Of course it was nothing, Ali. I know exactly what you said, and I see the way you look at me," she mumbled, pushing herself off of him.

He grasped at her and pulled her back, "You aren't going anywhere," he said simply.

"You expect me to stay in your bed with my skirt like this? Umm… nah, you ain't my husband, therefore you don't get _any_ of what I put on the table for Sinbad," she said, trying to pull away from him.

Alibaba growled at her statement. He hated how right she was, though. Tettia was not his, yet, but he would make her his even if that meant stealing her from Sinbad. "I don't care. You aren't leaving my room for the rest of the day…" he mumbled.

"You expect me to stay in your bed all fucking day?" she asked with a gasp.

The former prince nodded, pulling her closer to him, laying down on his bed. "Yes."

Tettia wanted to protest. Wanted to push Alibaba away, for the sake of the prank, but she could not. The redhead wanted so badly to be in the same bed as the blond. Giving into her feelings, she cuddled up to him, burying her face into his clothed chest. "Fine… just for today and this stays between us… Sinny can't know, he'd get _soooooooo_ jealous," she mumbled into his chest, wrapping her arms around him.

Alibaba blushed as she cuddled up to him. "O-of course! Why would I tell anyone?" he asked.

"Just hush~ cuddle me. Play with my hair," she mumbled.

Alibaba rolled his eyes and started to play with her hair. He pulled her impossibly closer to himself. Breathing in her scent, he was content with this. Sure, he wanted to do more things than just cuddle with Tettia, but she was neither his girlfriend nor wife. He did kiss her, but she initiated the kiss.

* * *

Through the door, Marina and Tora had listened in. They gasped when they heard Tettia say _"Shut up and kiss me"_. "AliTia is totally happening soon," muttered Marina.

"Hell _fucking_ yes," quietly exclaimed Tora.

Pulling away from the door, Marina smiled back at Hakuryuu. "Sorry for dragging you with us, we couldn't just let them do this without snooping," she said.

"Now, we should fucking go," muttered Tora, pulling the two away from Alibaba's room.

Hakuryuu was dragged away from the blond's door. "I still think that she looks cute with Sinbad," he muttered.

Tora and Marina waved off his statement. "I'm damn sure King Moron would be really fucking happy that you think that. Maybe the only fucking one who thinks that. All of us think Babwa and Tet are perfect for one another," said Tora.

"Yeah! Even the Eight Generals want AliTia to happen. Though they are happy that Sin the Perv is happy with Tet. They're gonna be upset when the prank ends," Marina said.

Hakuryuu nodded. "I can see that. They both seem so emotionally invested in this prank," he added.

Tora looked over her shoulder and nodded, saying, "Oh yeah! They definitely are. They've both developed feelings for one another; I'm sure that once that this prank is over that the love they've developed won't go away. Because, ya know, ya can't fucking get over loving someone. Once you open yourself up to loving someone, it's very hard to just _switch_ it off because the prank or a prank is over."

"That was… very insightful, Tor," said Marina, impressed by the purplenette's words.

The navy-haired prince was also impressed by Tora's words. "That is very insightful. And I do understand that. Tettia and Sinbad will continue to love each other even after this ends," he said.

"Anyways, we should actually go see King Moron now. Ja'far sent for you, which meant that King Moron actually does want to see you," Tora spoke.

Marina pulled out some candy and handed it to Tora. "Here ya go, Tor."

"THANK YOU!" screamed Tora, taking the piece of candy. She unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth. "Oh~! That's fucking orgasmic!"

Marina smiled. "Isn't it though?!"

"GOD YES!" exclaimed Tora. Hakuryuu just silently laughed at the two candy-junkies as they walked towards Sinbad's location, which would be wherever Ja'far would be. "Oh fuck… I really should be helping Massy train Morgiana right now…" she said.

Marina laughed. "But hanging out with me and trying to get AliTia to happen is so much more entertaining, isn't it? Why would you want to miss out on that?!"

"Touché. You have a good fucking point. But, I don't want fucking Shark-boy to get any ideas," groaned the purplenette.

"Ooh!" gasped Marina.

Speak of the devil and he shall be heard. Sharrkan walked down the hallway, towards Tora, Marina and Hakuryuu. "Hey! Tora! Do you know where my two students are?! They are late for their lesson for today," the dark-skinned swordsman asked.

Tora smirked devilishly. "Oh yeah, they're in Babwa's room. I wouldn't bother them if I were you, though. This is a great development for them."

"Oh, are you serious?!" he asked with a gasp.

"You better believe it! They've already kissed again!" gushed Tora.

Sharrkan gushed as well. "Oh my god! It is so obvious that they have it bad for one another! The other day, Alibaba tried to fight me and win just to impress Tet!" he said.

"I have a feeling that he was gonna fight me before Tet walked out of her room, sleepy as fuck. I made it seem like her and King Moron fucked, I talked it up, but of course. And he got soooooo pissed. You shoulda seen it, Shark-boy."

"Are you serious?! Though, why wouldn't King Sinbad try and bed Tettia? She's a pretty amazing girl, if I may say so. She's funny, sassy, has a lewd sense of humor, isn't afraid to show off a little—"

"Shark-boy… do me a favor and shut the fuck up. We all don't need to know what you find attractive about Tet. The last thing we need is a third person to fall in love with her. Let's keep it to _just_ Sinbad and Alibaba, okay?" questioned Tora, walking up to him and pinching his cheek.

Sharrkan whined as she pinched his cheek. "Ouch! Okay, fine. Let go of my cheek," he said.

Tora released his cheek and smiled. "Thank you. Now, follow us," she said, dragging him by his chains.


	22. The Prank's End

**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Prank's End**

* * *

Night fell quickly, Tettia and Alibaba had been cuddling all day. When she looked out of the window of Alibaba's room, she gasped, "Oh god! It's already nighttime! I should get back to me and Sinny's room!"

Alibaba pulled her closer to him by her waist. "Nooooo! Stay with me Tet," he asked.

"I've never stayed the night in your bed before, and you're not my husband!" exclaimed the young Fanalis woman.

"Nooo~" whined Alibaba. "Please~!? Just for tonight?"

Tettia looked up at him, since she was facing his chest still. Seeing the pleading look in his golden eyes, she gave in. She secretly damned her feelings for him, as that kept her from saying no to his plea. "Fine. But only for tonight," she said with a sigh and a smile.

The blond seemingly squealed happily as he nuzzled his cheek against her own. "YAY! Thank you, Tet!" he gushed.

She rolled her eyes and ruffled his soft golden hair. "Alright, calm down, Ali," she said with a laugh.

Alibaba smiled happily and then moved to kiss Tettia again. He cupped one of her cheeks and pulled her lips to his; meanwhile, he pressed her closer to him, if that was even possible. Although slightly surprised at first, Tettia soon kissed back feverishly, combing her fingers through his hair. Their heated kiss went on for a few brief moments before it was prematurely interrupted by a knock on the door.

"BABWA! Has Tet helped you at all? Do you still have a _fever_?" came Tora's booming voice through the door. Marina could be heard laughing through the door.

"GODDAMMIT TORA!" exclaimed Tettia as she tore herself away from the blond and stomped towards the door. Ripping it open, Tettia looked at her best friend. "Excuse you! We were having a _good_ conversation, bitch. Can you not do this right now?"

Tora and Marina took into account how much messier Tettia's hair had become since they had last seen her that morning. "Oh really? _Conversation_ , eh? Your hair _really_ reflects a _good_ ** _conversation_** ," snickered the purplenette.

"Oh fuck you. What do you want?" asked Tettia.

Marina smiled childishly as she said, "It's dinner time, kiddies!"

Tettia rolled her eyes and stared blankly at her two older best friends. "Go. fuck. yourselves. You did NOT interrupt what we were doing to TELL US THAT IT'S MOTHERFUCKING DINNER TIME!" she exclaimed, shutting the door quickly.

Or rather, she _tried_ to close the bedroom door. "Excuse me, young lady. You're getting your fucking ass out of Babwa's room and eating dinner with us," hissed Tora, having caught the door with her foot.

"How about no," repeated Tettia, trying to shut the door again.

Tora once again caught the door with her foot. "All right, I didn't want to have to do this, but Tet, you're coming with us. You're going back to your room and putting back on those removable layers and goddammit you will come to dinner! Alibaba, you will be there too," she said, picking up the half-Fanalis like she was nothing.

Tettia squealed, "NO! PUT ME DOWN! LEAVE US BE!"

"Nope," the purplenette said, throwing Tettia at Marina.

"WHY DID YOU THROW HER AT ME!?" screamed Marina, catching Tettia.

"Because I knew you'd fucking catch her. Now, we must return her to room so she could get herself ready," Tora said.

Marina laughed and carried Tettia out of Alibaba's room. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. Let's go then. Sin the Perv wants his wife promptly," the golden-haired woman said.

The best friends laughed and exited the blond's room. The interaction had happened so quickly that Alibaba had no time whatsoever to get out of his bed. "Well then… looks like I'm going to dinner before my night with Tet," he sighed to himself.

* * *

Aladdin was walking through the palace when he saw Tettia struggling against Marina. "LET. ME. GO!" she yelled, flailing around.

"Tet?! Are you okay?! What's going on here?" asked a worried bluenette as he ran up to his best friend.

Tora and Marina stopped and looked at the young Magi. "Oh, sup, Little Man?" asked the purplenette, smiling down at him.

Casting his blue eyes upwards, Aladdin cocked his head in confusion and asked almost worriedly, "What are you two doing to Tet?"

"Nothing too bad. We just took her from Alibaba's room and are making her get herself ready for dinner with everyone," the two friends said with a huge grin.

"Oh? I was wondering where they were the whole day. While I was training, they were goofing off? Tet, how dare you do that without inviting me!" whined the young Magi.

Tettia shrugged and smiled apologetically as she said, "It's not like we went to any specific place without you, Laddin. We were just hanging out in his room… talking…"

Aladdin smiled up at her, getting over his previous whining rather quickly. "It's fine! I just wanted to give you a hard time, Tet! Can I come with you guys?" he asked, shooting a cute smile at the two older woman holding Tettia.

"AWWWW! Sure, I don't see the problem with that, do you, Tor?" Marina asked the purplenette.

Tora looked at Marina, who was looking at her with a childish gleam of happiness in her purple eyes. Sighing, rolling her eyes and shrugging, Tora finally answered after moments of silence, "Sure. It's not like Tet's gonna get naked or anything." Aladdin and Tettia looked at one another before laughing. Raising an eyebrow, Tora asked, "What's so funny, you two?"

"Oh! It's just funny that you think that there'd be a problem with Laddin seeing me naked! News flash: he's _already_ seen me naked," said a laughing Tettia.

Aladdin laughed as well ( _apparently_ low-key yet not low-key joking), "You ever wonder _why_ we're so close?"

Both Tora and Marina gasped, "WHAT?! You're friendship is based off of the sole fact that Aladdin saw you naked at some point?!"

"It was an honest mistake. And it was, like, five seconds. Calm down, Laddin was joking with that comment. Ironically, that was the first time we meeting, too, right, Laddin?"

"Yeah! About four or so years ago," replied the young Magi.

The two long-term best friends laughed at the memory. "Fun times. Fun times," said the half-Fanalis, wiping laugh-induced tears from her eyes. Marina had since let her go in shock of the revelation. "Anyways, to my room, eh, Laddin?" Tettia asked, smiling down at bluenette, ruffling his hair.

Aladdin punched the air and grabbed her hand. "Yeah!" The two other best friends left the purplenette and blonde behind, laughing and talking with each other. Clearly Aladdin was unaffected by Tettia's attire, as he looked up at her face the whole time they walked to her room.

Tora and Marina were left in a very shocked state. "Y-you're kidding… they first meet and Aladdin saw her naked…?" questioned Marina in a whisper.

"Apparently…" sighed Tora. Taking a moment to compose herself, Tora smirked. "… Wanna bet that Babwa would be super pissed that Little Man saw Tet naked before he has?"

Marina laughed, "Absolutely!"

It not take too long for those two to return to normal. They walked to the dinning hall, where most people were waiting. Tora immediately attacked Masrur with a hug. "MASSY!" she exclaimed as they almost fell over.

"Tora… I've told you not to do that suddenly," Masrur said, patting Tora's purple hair.

Ja'far and Sarabi looked like they was about to have a come apart. "ESPECIALLY NOT IN THE DINNING HALL!" they both exclaimed, more worried about the food.

Tora lifted her head off Masrur's chest and glared at the two advisors. "Cross me and you both shall die," she said lowly.

"Enough! Tora, stop being antagonistic towards Sarabi and Ja'far," commanded Sinbad.

Turning her dangerous gaze at Sinbad, Tora hissed, "Hey, I may be latched onto Massy right now, but I can still kick your ass from here."

Patting her purple hair, Masrur tried calming down his currently highly antagonistic wife. "Shh. Tor… calm down… for me?"

Melting at his plea, Tora reluctantly agreed, "F-fine~!" Masrur smiled and continued to soothe his easily angered wife.

That was when Alibaba entered the dinning hall, he took his seat in an empty seat, next to another empty seat. The second empty seat was presumably Aladdin's as there was an empty seat by Sinbad which was more than likely for Tettia. Jealously swirled inside of him at the very thought of her sitting beside him; especially since he and Tettia had spent the day cuddling, with some more kissing added every so often.

* * *

Tettia had put back on the removable layers of her skirt that she had removed; she had also fixed her hair. Casting her crimson eyes at Aladdin, she smiled sweetly. "Well, that was quick. Ready to head to the dinning hall, Laddin?" she asked.

Aladdin smiled and answered, "Yeah! I am! I'm hungry!"

Picking him up in a big hug, Tettia began walking towards her door. "I know you are! I am, too!"

"Question!" exclaimed Aladdin as he was put down.

"Yes?"

"Why were you in Alibaba's room all day? Were you guys kissing?" asked a knowing Aladdin with a childishly knowing smile.

Already knowing that Aladdin knew, Tettia rolled her eyes. "You're a little shit, ya know that?" she rhetorically asked.

"You will always love me, though," Aladdin said, smiling sweetly at her.

"Yeah, you're right you little heathen, I love you," she said, opening the door and began the trek to the dinning hall.

* * *

Tettia and Aladdin _finally_ arrived at the dining hall. "Look who finally decided to arrive to dinner," Ja'far said, staring blankly at the half-Fanalis and young Magi.

"Shove off Jaffy, I had to get ready. I was in bed all day," she said.

Tettia and Aladdin took their respective seats. It did not take long for Tettia to grow tired of her regular seat and opted for sitting in Sinbad's lap, which was what Tora was doing with her husband. However, unlike with Tora and Masrur, there was an increasingly jealous blond glaring directly at the two. "Open your mouth, Sinny~" said Tettia, feeding Sinbad a fork-full of meat.

Everyone looked at the increasingly irritated Alibaba, many just waiting for him to blow. They all knew the blond's feelings for Tettia and were all just waiting for him to come out and say it.

Sinbad opened his mouth and gladly accepted the fork-full of meat his wife had stuffed into his mouth. He hummed at the taste as he began to chew. Wrapping his arm securely around her waist, Sinbad pulled Tettia close to himself. Grabbing a cup of wine, Sinbad too a sip, looking down at Tettia, he smirked. "Want some, Tet?" he asked.

"Sure~ gimme some~" she said, taking his cup from his hand. "Thanks, sexy~" she cooed before she drank from his cup.

"Oh I was thinking about a better way to give you some," Sinbad replied with the dirtiest of smirks, which was meant to infuriate Alibaba. "I was talking about giving you a drink via kiss," he spoke as he leaned in closer to her face.

Gasping, Tettia blushed and teasingly pushed his face away. "Nuuuuuu~ not in front of everyone, Sinny~"

Tora decided to poke the bear and say, "Yeah! We all don't need to see what you guys two in the bedroom! Keep that bullshit to yourselves!"

The purplenette's comment had Sinbad's smirk take on a darker tone. He said with that smirk, "Oi, shut it, Tora. At least I haven't sprawled her across the table… yet."

"EWWWWW! King Moron! I DID NOT need to fucking know that! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT MAN! I cannot un-see that image of you and Tet…" Tora trailed off and shivered. There was no way she would picture her best friend and her king doing _that_ on the dinning table.

"I would never have my wife bloom in front of you guys, anyways. It's a private matter, right, Tet," he asked, kissing her cheek.

Just as Tettia opened her mouth to say something, someone slammed their hands onto the table. Everyone casted their eyes towards the angry-looking blond who was standing up, next to a very red-faced Hakuryuu (who had been rendered so red-faced due to Sinbad's illusion to him and Tettia doing _that_ on the table). "I have something to say!" he exclaimed.

"Go for it?" Tora feigned curiosity.

Alibaba took in a deep breath, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. This had been an in-the-moment type thing, he had not meant to get so upset and get everyone's attention. Alibaba had wanted to tell Tettia his feelings in the privacy of his room later that night — but what was life without a few curve-balls? Gathering his courage, he gulped and had made up his mind to tell Tettia. "I-… Tet… I-… IloveyouandIhavesincewefirstmet!" he quickly said, the words falling, jumbled out of his mouth.

Everyone understood him and look at him with their eyes wided. They all wanted to sigh out in relief, but all their breaths hitched as they directed their eyes towards the king and queen. The former looked semi-relieved and almost crushingly heartbroken; the latter of whom was looking like a cross between overwhelmingly happy and tremendously heartbroken. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion: Tettia and Sinbad looked at each other, the happiness seemingly drained from their expressions — both gazes suddenly turning solemn.

"Everyone…" hesitated Tettia, she took in a deep breath, "… excuse Sinny and myself for a few minutes," she said on a shaky breath and took Sinbad's hand.

Everyone watched as the king and Tettia exited the dinning hall; silence still hung in the air well after the door closed behind them. Even though they were all happy that Alibaba had finally confessed, all their hearts had pangs of hurt coarse through them — for they knew how much their king had grown to love the half-Fanalis

* * *

Tettia and Sinbad walked back to his room in utter silence, neither of them wanting to speak; neither of them knowing what really to say. They were both just swirls of emotions, both happy and sad, and even disappointed. Thoughts bounced around inside their minds, but once they entered his room, Sinbad pulled her into a hug. A hug that embodied his emotions: the emotions of not wanting to end the prank. The desire to make the prank much more than just a prank.

"Sin… don't…" muttered Tettia, burying her face into his chest, trying to hold back the tears.

Let it be known that Sinbad was happy that the prank had worked, but was crushed by the realization that he had grown to love Tettia so much. "I know this was just a prank… but… Tet…" muttered the king.

Looking up from his chest, Tettia cupped his cheek. "…I know… you don't have to say it…" she very softly said, barely above a whisper.

Covering her hand with his, Sinbad smiled a sweet smile down at her. A sweet smile that was laced with a painfully obviously dismal tone. "I know I don't have to… but, I want to…" he trailed off, he took in a breath, kissed her forehead, looked into her crimson eyes and continued quietly, "… _I love you, Tettia_ …"

Laughing almost sadly, Tettia tore her eyes away from his piercing dark golden orbs. "You… you…" she choked out, "You're making this… so much harder than it needs to be…"

"Am I the only one who's gonna admit it?" Sinbad asked, using his other hand to turn her gloomy gaze towards himself again. "Go on…"

Tettia smiled dismally as well. "You already know, Sinny…"

"I want to hear you say it. Please," he pleaded, as if he needed her to say her true feelings.

Looking into his golden orbs, with her hand still encased by his on one of his cheeks, she said lowly, "… _I love you, Sinbad_ … I wish, more than anything, that I had met you when you were younger. That way _this_ ** _prank_** would not have been just a _prank_ , but something more. Something serious. I've been so happy pretending to be your loving wife these past two years. But, as much as I love you… I love Ali more."

"I know… we both knew this would always be just a prank. I was glad I got to know you as much as I have these past two years. Like you said, if only we had met when I was younger, we would have been married by now… for real," he said, pulling her closer to himself.

"Let's promise something, Sinny…"

"Hmm? What?"

"Let's promise that we will always be there for one another. Even though we are going are separate ways in the way of love. Promise me that we will still in each other's lives," she said, leaning in closer to his face.

Sinbad smiled. "I like the sound of that. Yes… I promise that. Even though we aren't right for each other, romantically, we will always be close friends."

"Good. Now," she said, giving Sinbad another kiss. This would be their second and final kiss. Sinbad immediately kissed back; it lasted much longer than the handful of seconds their first one had. Once he had entangled his hands into her hair, Tettia pulled away before they could get too into it. "I'm sorry, I wanted one last kiss," she said.

Smiling, Sinbad said, "No, I completely understand. I enjoyed it."

"We should go back."

"Yes."

* * *

Alibaba was nervous, why did they leave and why had they been gone so long. As if on cue, the duo entered the dinning hall. "I love you, too, Alibaba Saluja," announced Tettia. "I've had feelings for you for two years as well. The marriage to Sinny was just an elaborate plan to get you to confess."

"FINALLY!" everyone sighed out, finally relieved. "God, boy, it took you FOREVER!" exclaimed Marina. Sinbad sat down in his seat, while Tettia sat in Alibaba's lap. He was going to miss her immensely. It would feel weird without Tettia around him all the time, when she was not training with Sharrkan and Alibaba. However, Sinbad knew it was for the best, for Tettia to be with Alibaba.

"Congrats you two! Finally," Aladdin said with a smile. "Told you it'd come together soon, Tet."

"Yes you did," she said, smiling. Then she noticed Sinbad's somber gaze and felt bad — she knew she had to do something. Maybe get him and Marina together? Tettia had seen the way Sinbad would give Marina those subtle longing looks whenever he saw her around the palace. It was perfect! Now, Tettia just had to get Tora onboard with _Operation MarSin_.

Alibaba noticed the growing smirk on his new girlfriend's face and whispered to her, "What are you smirking for?"

"Oh, you'll find out in due time, Ali," Tettia said with a smiled, kissing his cheek, trying to throw him off her trail of devious thoughts.


	23. Operation MarSin, Start!

**Chapter Twenty-Three: So Begins Operation MarSin, Kind Of**

 **A/N: Here it issssssss! Sorry if there wasn't much development in Operation MarSin, my brain just did its own thing.**

* * *

A few days had passed since Tettia and Sinbad's prank ended. He had not yet the opportunity to talk with King Sinbad therefore Hakuryuu was sitting in his room, looking forebodingly out the window, think to himself, _I do not have the leisure to waste my time and yet… will I be able to talk with King Sinbad even a little…? He seemed pretty upset a few days ago when Tettia and him ending their prank_. That was when there came knocking on his door. Standing up, the navy-haired prince walked over to his door. Opening it, he was surprised to see the young bluenette, the blond and the redhead.

Aladdin waved and said, "Hello, I'm Aladdin. A lot has happened the past several days, so we haven't had time to come see you or introduce ourselves to you. We finally came here to talk with you. Your sister… her name is Hakuei Ren, right?"

Hakuryuu looked down at the young Magi. "Why do you know my sister's name…? Aladdin…? Could it be… you are Aladdin… the Magi…?!" he asked.

"Do you know about Laddin?" asked Tettia curiously.

They all went to sit down and Hakuryuu replied to her, "Yes… I heard about Aladdin when my sister, Hakuei… returned home after the western campaign. She was helping in the grasslands by a young Magi."

Tettia sat beside Alibaba, and nuzzled Aladdin, who she had pulled into her lap. "Ah, I see~ The grasslands, the things you told me and Ali about the Kouga, mmm Laddin?" she asked, laying her head on his shoulder.

He nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that, Tet."

Hakuryuu stood up from his chair and said, "Master Aladdin. Please accept my thanks. My sister is my sole, valuable sibling. Thank you very much for saving her life." Then he bowed to Aladdin.

Aladdin had gotten up from his seat in Tettia's lap, he went over to him. "It's okay! You don't have to thank me," he said.

Looking at them, Tettia smiled happily and leaned on her blond boyfriend. " _Wow… I was wondering what kind of person he was, since he's from the empire, but… I didn't expect him to be such a nice guy_. That's what you're thinking, ain't it, Ali," she whispered.

"You're always such a mind-reader, Tet. Stop it before you see somethings I'm thinking that are inappropriate to blurt out," Alibaba whispered back, leaning his head onto hers.

"Oh, but your thoughts of me are always inappropriate. Though I'm _pretty sure_ you're a virgin like myself, you sure don't have the thoughts of one," whispered a smirking half-Fanalis.

Alibaba laughed and ruffled her hair, slightly blushing, "Shut up, Tet. But, to validate your claim: yes, I am a virgin _thank you_."

Lowly laughing, Tettia nudged closer to Alibaba, whispering, "Can't wait to change that~"

That little statement had Alibaba's face erupting into a now noticeable blush. "T-Tettia!" he whisper-yelled.

"Awww, c'mon, Alibaba~ I know you think of it… _a lot_. You've been thinking about it much more the usual in the past several days, too. Maybe because I've been in your bed night after night since you confessed," teased Tettia, winking at him.

Aladdin had interrupted them by cutting through their conversation with his cute self saying, "That's right! I was worried about your sister as well, so I wanted to talk to you, but… you were going somewhere when we got here. Did we bother you?"

Shaking his head, Hakuryuu said, "It is impossible that you would bother me. I have to thank the Rukh's guidance that allowed us to meet." He got down on his knees and bowed. "I wished to meet you as much as I have wished to meet King Sinbad. I beg you to listen to what I have to say, Master Magi."

"Prince… King Sinbad called for you," said a soldier.

Hakuryuu looked back, then towards the trio. "I apologize. I have to go…"

"Don't worry, let's talk another time," Aladdin and Tettia said with a smile. "And with Alibaba, too!"

Alibaba smiled at his girlfriend and his best friend. "Yeah!" He turned to Hakuryuu and waved, "I'm Alibaba. See you next time!"

"Yes! Sir Alibaba, we could not talk much this time, but we should be sure to do so on the next occasion," said Hakuryuu. Casting his blue eyes to Tettia, he bowed to her and said, "I look forward to talking with you as well, Miss Tettia. See you." Then he promptly exited the room.

Alibaba and Tettia waved at Hakuryuu as he left. "The prince Hakuryuu, huh. I didn't expect him to be such a good guy!" said the blond.

"Right," replied Aladdin and Tettia, smiling. That was when the duo's blond best friend fell silent. Blue eyes were turned towards him and asked, "What's wrong, Alibaba?"

Rubbing the back of his head, he replied, "Well… it's just that a moment ago, I thought that he resembled someone, but I wasn't able to figure out who."

"Maybe Hakuei?" asked Aladdin and Tettia as they all left his room.

The blond shook his head. "No, I've never met her… oh well… it must be just my imagination!"

Tettia saw Morgiana running through the hallway and called out, "Hey Morg! This way!"

"She has just come back from the workshop in town!" exclaimed Aladdin.

Gushing, Tettia exclaimed, "Which means they've finished it!"

* * *

Outside, Morgiana opened the chest. Her shackles had been remastered into gorgeous leg ornaments with flowing chains, a red jewel embedded in an symbol. A symbol, which Morgiana had explained to be a phoenix. "They're so beautiful! You're gonna look great in them, Morg! Try them on! Try them on!" gushed Tettia, attacking Morgiana with a hug.

Morgiana nodded, put them on and got into a prime kicking position. The trio that was her friends laid on their stomach, talking. "The chains are still there, but they are _so pretty_!" gushed Aladdin, kicking his feet up into the air.

"Even more than chains… they resemble the decorations that dancers wear! I've seen them before," said Alibaba.

Tettia rolled over on top of Alibaba, gushing, " _Wow_ , so beautiful!"

"Come on, Mor. Do it!" exclaimed Aladdin. Tettia laid in her boyfriend's lap and exclaimed, "Yeah! Do it, gorgeous!" Throwing his hands into the air, Alibaba said, "Do it, Morgiana!"

"Okay!" the purebred Fanalis said with a smile and kicked. However, the chains wrapped around the trio's heads and dragged them into the ground. "Sorry, sorry!" she exclaimed as she helped unchain them.

"Isn't it better to remove these chains?! They get in the way," said Alibaba.

Tettia pat Morgiana's back and said, "As long as you don't put them on your feet, they won't get in the way. Why not wear them as bracelets?" Looking solemnly at the leg ornaments, Morgiana did not seem encouraged by the older half-Fanalis's words. "What's wrong, Morg?"

She looked at her ornaments and said almost sadly, "No matter where I wear them… they're just beautiful ornaments… I can't figure out how I should use them in battle…"

"Ahh, I see. Well, you're a hands-on type of fighter — therefore, really, you don't have a need for any kind of enhancement such as a type of weapon," said Tettia, smiling at her.

Aladdin leaned on Tettia and said, "Well said, but Mor, how do you want to use them?"

"What, me…?" she asked.

The young Magi nodded and said, "Yeah, Yam told me this. When you want to create new magic, you should first joyfully think about what you want to do with it. I'm sure that the Household Vessel's ability is something like that."

"What I want to do…" she trailed off in thought. "I want… a strength that can be useful to the three of you."

"Eh?" the trio asked. Waving their hands in the air dismissively as they all said, "No, Mor, you are strong enough."

A light bulb went off in Alibaba's head. "Ah, that could help us! It was when you threw me into the air. Thanks for that. If it weren't for you, I couldn't have passed over that wall and fought with the enemies in the air," the blond said.

Tettia opened her mouth to say something, but Aladdin chimed in, "You saved me in mid-air, too! And you carried Alibaba and the other people through the air as well… it's incredible when we are with you! It's like we have wings!"

"I'm your… wings…" Morgiana trailed off and thought about it. She imagined herself with wings with Aladdin, Alibaba and Tettia cheering her for being so strong. "I understand."

Throwing his hand up, Alibaba began, "Hey, wait a minute. What were you thinking just now?"

"I will become your wings," Morgiana said.

As they went back and forth, a shadow fell over Tettia's eyes. How dare they forget that it was **Tettia** that had done all that, Morgiana did _nothing_ of the sort. Yet there they were, giving that purebred all the credit of the things that _she_ had done in Balbadd. The half-bred stood up and loomed dangerously over her two best male friends. Without saying a word, she stomped off, throughly irritated — blood boiling in anger. "How _fucking_ ** _dare_** them! She didn't do a _damn thing_! I was the one to do _all_ of that stuff! Yet they go and give _her_ all the credit, **_REALLY_**?!" muttered the angry Tettia through gritted teeth, and she punched a nearby column as she passed it, resulting in it being broken in half.

His girlfriend's sudden anger shocked Alibaba. It even shocked Aladdin, her sudden intense anger. "Did we say something to anger her?" he asked the young Magi.

"No… it takes _a lot_ to get her _that_ mad, and usually she does not get _that_ mad when someone simply says something that strikes a chord with her. She gets kinda violent and can even go so far as to punch said person who irritated her, then tell that person to not say what they said and then be fine with that person," said the young Magi. "You should _probably_ go after her, though, Alibaba. She is your beloved now…"

"I _should_ , but she looked _real_ angry about something. It may be better to let her cool off before anyone, let alone me, tries talking to her," the blond said.

Aladdin looked at him and sighed, "If you say so."

* * *

Tettia was angrily walking through the palace when Tora found her. "Hey, Tet!" she exclaimed, running towards her. Tettia glared intensely at her purplenette best friend, which had Tora stop in her tracks. "Whoa there, girlie. What's wrong? You look really damn pissed off, did Babwa say something to piss you off? I'll fucking kill him!"

"It was him _and_ Laddin," she growled.

 _That_ was an unexpected answer which made Tora gasp and ask, "Oh god… what'd they do?"

Crossing her arms, Tettia sighed heavily, "Okay, so we were with Morgiana, since her Household Vessel ornaments were finally completed. And we were trying to help her figure out what she's gonna use them for in battle. Then Alibaba listed off stuff that _I DID_ while we were in Balbadd, labeling Morgiana the doer of those actions. Then Laddin _did the same thing_! Gave her credit for things _I DID_!"

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry. Think of it this way, they were probably just saying that to give Morgiana a much needed confidence boost. I'm sure they know, full-well, that you were the one to do those great things, but they don't want her to feel like she isn't useless. Because, honestly, with you by their side, they don't particularly _need_ a purebred Fanalis. You have the strength and heightened senses of a pureblood Fanalis, plus the added Magoi capacity that comes with being a half-breed. A half-human. You're the perfect combination, and a real destructive force to be reckoned with. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that it should be you that has a Household Vessel, _not_ Morgiana. I love her like a daughter, but… she's only a purebred Fanalis with a minuscule amount of Magoi that her body can offer as fuel for the power given to her by the Household Vessel. Look at my husband, even though he has a Household Vessel, because he is a pure Fanalis, he can only use that power when it is absolutely needed. _OR_ he is severely enraged," the purplenette said, placing her one of her hands on one of Tettia's shoulder. "And note that this is Massy, a matured adult Fanalis — and he cannot use his Household Vessel often. If Morgiana were to use it, it could likely kill her the first time she uses it; since she is _so_ underdeveloped compared to Massy. It's going to suck too much Magoi out of her body's small reserve. That is grounds enough for a confidence boost on her part, yeah?"

Taking in her best friend's words, Tettia sighed, knowing she was right. "Yeah, I do suppose you have a point. Do you think I could make my daggers into a Household Vessel of my own?"

"Now, _that_ , I'm not sure of. Now, come with me, we have to go talk some sense into King Moron," Tora said, pulling Tettia along.

Tettia shook her head and said, "I thought he was talking with Haku?!"

Looking over her shoulder, Tora replied, "Oh, he finished talking to him rather quickly. Haku claimed that he wants to destroy the Kou Empire, just a by the way. Now, we have to talk King Moron out of this fucking slump! He's been so depressed the past few days since the prank ended! Not to mention, he's been drinking more!"

" _Yeah_ … I can see that… Let's go talk to him," she said, looking off to the side sadly. It hurt her heart that Sinbad was depressed over the prank ending. She was hoping that he would move on from her and direct his attentions towards Marina. After all, Tettia remembered the looks he subtly gave to the golden-haired childish woman.

Tora kicked in the door to the room where Sinbad was. "I AM HERE TO HAVE A FUCKING TALK WITH YOU!" she exclaimed. "And looked who I brought!"

Sinbad looked at the purplenette and noticed Tettia. "T-Tet?!"

"Yeah! What's up with me hearing about you being depressed, Sinny? I thought, surely, that you'd be trying to hit on Mari by now!" she said with a laugh. Tettia had not been expecting for Sinbad to hug her so suddenly, and so tightly. "S-Sinny?"

Tora rolled her eyes and said, pulling Sinbad away from the half-Fanalis, "Look here, King Moron, I brought her here because I feel that she is the only one who can help me talk you out of the hole you dug for yourself."

"What do you mean?" he asked, as if trying to hide the fact that he was depressed.

Tettia sat in front of him. "Sinbad, look at me," she almost commanded. He looked into her eyes and she saw the depressed gleam. "Oh, Sinny… I never meant to make you depressed. I want you to be happy, I really do. But you can't do that until you pick yourself up from being depressed. I know there is someone that will make you feel as happy as I made you… and I know that you know who it is."

" _Please_ , Sinbad, for us. If not for us, then for your _kingdom_. We _all_ care for you. You're our king and you usually bring so much life to this kingdom when you are your goofy, pervert self. Even little Killjoy and Massy are worried about you. Look, I get it: heartbreak is never easy to deal with. I loved someone before Massy joined up with us, and guess what… that idiot went and got himself killed in battle. Therefore, I completely understand where you are coming from, Sinbad. I hurt for months before I even noticed Masrur. You need time… time heals all wounds, but you also need someone close to you to help you through it. I had Killjoy to help me through my heartbreak, before I grew feelings for Massy. God… I feel like I'm only making this worse…" said Tora, gently grabbing and twirling her hair around her finger.

"No, no. Sinny, I know that Marina and Sarabi traveled with you for a while in the past, aye? And you and Mari got to know each other rather well, yeah? Well, there is your good friend to help you through the heartbreak _I_ caused. But, let me say, that I am _so sorry_ that I caused you. I _never ever_ meant for this to hurt you. If it looks like I'm not hurting either, that is so far from the truth. Sinbad," Tettia said, taking his hands in her own, looking into his eyes, "I am hurting, too. Even though I play it off, especially since I _am_ happy to finally be with Alibaba, I sometimes see you when I look at him. Sometimes I almost say your name as I spend time with him. God, it hurts so much, too. I miss your warmth, but yet… I also love Alibaba's warmth. I love him and the comfort being around him gives me, even though I am kinda heartbroken, just like you. Just like what Tora said, I am having my best _friends_ help me through this too, albeit one of my best friends is the one I am currently romantically involved with. You should ask Marina to help you through this depression. She's goofy, and crazy, and incredibly _yet lovingly_ childish. Though I cannot help you through this without causing more hurt, I am sure that Mari can, without fail, drag you from this dark place your in. I want you to maybe talk to her, voice your pains to her, because I know she can be serious when the time calls for it."

Sinbad looked at her and smiled for the first time in days. He laughed as well, "If you say so, Tet. And, hey, maybe she'll finally notice my affection for her."

"Exactly! Maybe she will!" both Tettia and Tora.

Tettia stood up, Sinbad following her. "Feeling a bit better?" she asked with a smile.

He nodded and replied to her, "Actually, yes I do. Especially now that I know it's not _only_ me that is feeling some heartbreak. Thanks, Tora, for coming and bringing Tet with you to have a talk with me. It's what I needed."

Tora's eyes widened, he had never really thanked her with such genuinely thanked her. Since they had a love-hate relationship almost. "Y-you're welcome… King… Sinbad," she stumbled over her words. "L-let's go, Tet…"

Walking over to the purplenette, the redhead took her arm and dragged her out of the room. "Bye, Sinny. See ya around," said a waving Tettia.

Sinbad waved back, feeling rejuvenated and brought out of his several day depression. "Thanks… Tet. That's exactly what I needed to hear to get back to normal," he said to himself, still in love with that goofy half-breed.

* * *

Later that day, the four of them were all training (Alibaba, Tettia, Aladdin, and Morgiana). Morgiana was punching the air with weights on her arms, while the original trio were training with each other, Aladdin firing his fire at Tettia, who was lunging towards the young Magi. "Harharl infigar!" exclaimed Aladdin.

Before the fire (or heat) magic could hit her, however, her boyfriend jumped in front of her and said, "Amon's sword!" Then his sword absorbed the heat. The blond smiled and playfully said, "Your magic doesn't work on me~~ Thanks for your flames. Also, can't have you hurting my beloved, can I?"

Aladdin pouted and whined, "That's unfair, Alibaba! I was aiming for Tet!"

"Sorry to interrupt your training…" came Hakuryuu's voice. He walked up with Marina by his side.

Tettia looked over at him and waved, "Hey-a there, Haku! What'cha doing?"

Hakuryuu smiled at her and replied, "I received an order from King Sinbad and was searching for you."

"What are ya doing, Mari?" asked Tettia.

She shrugged, "I dunno. I was just bored. Now I'm going to go find Tora and share some candy with her. BYE!"

Tettia waved at the retreating golden-haired woman. "Okay, bye bye! Now, what is the order, Haku?"

" _Stay with them, act together with them, and learn from them!_ That is what he said." Hakuryuu bowed to them and continued, "Please treat me well from today onwards."

Biting her lip, Tettia laughed, "Of course we will!"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Aladdin.

Hakuryuu and Alibaba shook hands. "Look at you two getting along!" the redhead gushed. "Guess we're friends with the Kou Empire now~ but if I see that bitch come around here again, she's gonna die."

"Tettia!" exclaimed Alibaba, chastising her. Eventually she apologized and went to goof off with Aladdin. "I'm sorry about that, Hakuryuu. A lot of things happened between Tet and that princess in Balbadd."

Turning to look at him, Hakuryuu said, "What about you then, Sir Alibaba Saluja? I heard about you… the truth is that you resent me as the prince of the country that occupied Balbadd. I wouldn't ask you to speak heart-to-heart with a foe, but you don't need to hide _this_."

Alibaba smiled at him and said, "Nah, I'm not hiding this in particular."

"There is no need to overdo it. That is what the Empire did to your country. And they are probably continuing to do so even now… don't you know… who was dispatched in Balbadd as the western campaign governor…?" asked Hakuryuu, his voice growing sharp, "The first prince, the _Flame Emperor_ , Kouen Ren. He is the strongest and is an unparalleled general of the Kou Empire. At any rate, he is the own of three Metal Vessels! He is the only one, other than King Sinbad, who has conquered more than a single dungeon! He is an ambitious person and intends to make Balbadd the base of his operations to realize his conquest of the West in one breath… Balbadd's Civil War was only a stepping stone for him! Didn't you lose your beloved, fellows citizens, your _blood_ relatives, and your friends in that Civil War!?" Alibaba looked at Hakuryuu. "So I was prepared for the fact that you would hate a prince coming from the country that is your enemy!"

Tettia watched from a few feet away. "…No… I don't hate you. That's what I decided," the blond said with a smile, he walked close to Hakuryuu and patted his left shoulder. "Don't worry, Hakuryuu! I don't see you as an enemy! It's not like you did anything, after all! Let's speak frankly. Even if we can't right away… but from now on!"

Hakuryuu looked at Alibaba with wide eyes. That was when Tettia bounded up to Alibaba and attacked him with a hug. "I'm back, sweetheart!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

* * *

Sinbad sat behind his desk, Yamraiha, Masrur, Tora and Sharrkan stood before him. "So… let's hear the news. How are your disciples' conditions?" the king asked.

Sharrkan was the first to start, "Yes, Alibaba and Tettia are doing well. The application of the Djinn Weapon Equipment is beginning to show results, and Alibaba is polishing his moves even more. Tettia, well, she is just a natural. Her movements are like those of a skilled swordsman, there was nothing left that I could really teach her, therefore I had her polish up on her moves and have taught her subtle new moves."

Yamraiha went next, saying, "Aladdin has become stronger as well. He has learned new magic. He looked at my water magic and created his own. He has great talent!"

"What about Morgiana?" he asked Tora and Masrur.

"Well… she'd been strong since the beginning, but… she hasn't activated her Household Vessel yet. The origins of the Household Vessel… it's ability is granted by the Djinn of the Metal Vessel after that Djinn acknowledges the common struggle with its master and the owner of the Household Vessel, right?" said Masrur. "That's why it is useless no matter how much we work on it… if she doesn't fight together with Alibaba in a real fight, then…"

"I see. A _real_ battle, huh? That's right… for more than half a year, they just ate. It is time to make them work for me! Call Aladdin and the others!" command Sinbad.

Tora held up her hand, interrupting, "Real quick, before you call them, I have a little hell to raise. Sinbad, what the fuck do you think you're doing allowing Morgiana to believe that she can handle the strain a damn Household Vessel will put on her body?! She's not yet ready to wield a Household Vessel! Tettia is a _much_ better choice, her skills are more developed and she has a larger Magoi capacity than Morgiana does. And damn it Sinbad, I refuse to sit here and let you allow that young Fanalis to put her life on the line _just to wield a fucking Household Vessel_ because _she_ _needs_ **validation** that she is not _useless_ compared to her friends. It's insanity!"

"I understand your concerns, Tora, but this is also to develop Morgiana's skills further—"

"By letting her surely almost die after she uses the Household Vessel the first time?! I don't think so, King Moron! You should not have filled that girl's head full of that wanton desire to be useful to her friends by using the great power that is in a Household Vessel! She is more useful ALIVE and she is DEAD! Last time I checked, Fanalis' don't come back from death and get impossibly stronger! They either die when they use up their Magoi, or they slowly get better and are never the same in a fight," retorted Tora. "I am entirely against you even telling that girl she could wield such a weapon. It is not in her genetics to use such a Magoi-draining weapon, nor does it go well with her fighting-style! At least with Tettia, she is adaptable and excels in knife-play, in which the addition of a Household Vessel would not have a detrimental effect on her fighting-style."

Sinbad sighed, "Well, what do you want me to do, Tora? Take away her ornaments? Make her feel useless?"

Groaning loudly, Tora exclaimed, "No! I'm not saying do _that_! I am saying that maybe you should tell her that since she is a pure Fanalis, that is may not be strategically wise for her to wield a Household Vessel. Morgiana is better being the hand-to-hand combat master of the group than wielding a potentially deadly force just to feel useful. I'm not saying tell her that Tettia will become our Household Vessel candidate for Alibaba, as that will only make her feel beneath Tettia — like Tettia will always be better than her — but I am saying tell her something. Because if she dies because you let her think she could use a Household Vessel, I will be highly aggravated."

"How would me telling her that have any affect on her decision to wield it or not?!"

"I don't know! But find a way to get her to reconsider wielding a Household Vessel, I see her like a daughter and you don't mess with a Momma Tora!" exclaimed Tora.

Taking a minute to take in her words, Sinbad sighed, "Would it not be more potent coming from your mouth over my own?"

"No. Because I am one of Tettia's best friends, Morgiana may take it as me telling her that she is not good enough — and that Tettia is better than her."

Sharrkan sighed, "I have to agree with Tora on this one, King Sinbad. If Tora were to say anything to Morgiana on that subject, the young one could misconstrue it as Tettia's best female friend telling her that she is nothing more than a lesser version of Tettia."

"Fine, fine. I will talk to her. Now, call Aladdin and the others," he commanded.

* * *

The five of them were gathered in front of Sinbad's desk. "I've gathered you here… to send you on a dungeon conquest!" exclaimed Sinbad.

"Dungeon conquest!?" exclaimed the original trio (Alibaba, Tettia and Aladdin).

"You are already powerful… and I've been searching for people who can help me conquer a dungeon. I want you to go!"

"Dungeon conquest, huh… we haven't explored one since Amon!" exclaimed Tettia.

Aladdin and Alibaba spoke, "Though you told us you want us to go… where is that dungeon?"

Sinbad looked at them and said, "That dungeon is… on a small island further south of Sindria. Recently, a secret palace appeared in the South Sea without anyone's notice…"

"Oh! Cool! Should we go get ready?!" exclaimed an excited Tettia.

"Yes, you should," said Sinbad, smiling gently at her. Everyone turned to leave. "Ah—! Wait! Morgiana, there is something I need to discuss with you," he said.

Morgiana stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Yes, King Sinbad?"

He sighed, "I have been thinking lately and I think it is best if you put off trying to wield a Household Vessel for a while. Your body is not yet ready for the strain that the Vessel will put on your body. I know this may seem hard to hear, but I am thinking of your own safety here. Many people would be devastated if you were to get hurt trying to wield one."

The look in her eyes was one of hurt, even if her face did not contort in any emotion. "Is that all, King Sinbad?" she asked.

"Yes, I just thought you should know of the concerns I have for you. However, if you use it and manage to live, that would be a wonderful revelation. And it may put those worries of those who are worried about you wielding such a straining power to rest," he said with a smile.

"Yes, sir," said Morgiana as she walked out of the room.

Once the door had closed, Sinbad groaned, "That was…"

"Thank you… Sinbad. I would truly would be devastated if she were to die wielding a damn Household Vessel," said Tora, quickly hugging Sinbad.

Sighing, Sinbad allowed himself to be hugged by the one person he would never have expected a hug from. "You're welcome, Tora. Now it is up to her whether or not she uses it or not," he said.

"I can hope that she chooses not to," said Tora.


	24. Preparations for Another Dungeon Dive

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Preparing and Leaving for Zagan's Dungeon**

* * *

While everyone was diligently preparing for the dungeon, Alibaba and Tettia were locked in his — now _their_ — room. The blond loomed over Tettia, who he had just pushed down onto their shared bed, and was just looking lovingly at her. "You feeling better now? You seemed pretty angry when we were talking to Morgiana earlier," he asked worriedly, "I didn't upset you, did I?"

"Both you _and_ Laddin upset me. You guys gave credit to Morgiana for things _I_ did while we were in Balbadd! She didn't do _anything_! I threw you! I helped Laddin! She did _nothing_! She only helped in, like, two battles. And then you go and make her your Household Vessel?!" huffed Tettia, turning her head away from him, resting on the pillow below her head.

Alibaba gently made her turn her head back to look at him. "Is that really what you were so upset about? You destroyed a pillar," he said.

Pouting, Tettia said, "Yeah? Your point? I was pissy that my lover and best friend gave her unneeded credit! Plus, again, she thinks she's gonna be your Household Vessel!"

"You really expect her to be my Household Vessel, Tet?" he asked, leaning in close to her, to kiss her forehead.

Tettia reached up and ruffled the blond's hair. "You're a goofball. But, to answer your question: yes, I do. She seems like she's so excited about it. But, Ali… she… _can't_. Morgiana can't become your Household Vessel… she's too… _underdeveloped_. If she unlocks it… she could _die_ ," she explained. "I'm a much better choice…"

"You're a much better choice for a lot of things, Tet," Alibaba said. "Like, you're a much better choice for a romantic partner. A best friend. _…a mother…_ " he mumbled the last part.

With one eyebrow raised, she questioned, "What was that last part, Saluja?"

Alibaba blushed and quickly looked away from Tettia's captivating crimson eyes. "N-nothing!"

"I think I heard you say I'd be a better choice for being a mother. Who exactly are you comparing me to when you say that?" she asked.

"Most people in the palace… you get along with Aladdin so well… so I just assume you'd be a wonderful mother," he mumbled.

Tettia leaned up and kissed his forehead, like Alibaba had done to her many times. "Look here, Alibaba Saluja, just because I get along with my best friend who I see as my younger brother doesn't mean I would be a good mother. Also, quit with that talk! We're only seventeen _and_ haven't been romantically involved long enough to determine whether we are actually compatible for marriage, if you should actually want that," she said almost sternly.

Alibaba leaned his head on her as he said almost silently, "I want that… so much that your can't imagine…"

Taking in his words, Tettia felt her heart flutter in both excitement and happiness. She, herself, also did want to get married to that goofy blond later on down the road, but she did not want to move too fast. _Oh, I'm pretty sure I can imagine how much you want that, Ali_ , the redhead thought to herself. "I-… let's focus on the present and not the future," she forced herself to say, and she did mean it.

With his lips curling up into a sweet and loving smile, the blond sensually caressed her cheek with his left hand. "I completely agree," he whispered to her before softly kissing her.

The kiss lasted a total of about ten seconds before Tettia, reluctantly, pulled away from the gentle, slow lip-lock. "We should probably get ready for the journey, Ali. That's what we were _supposed_ to be doing anyways — not being lovey-dovey like we've been doing since we entered our room," she said, pouting almost.

"We haven't been lovey-dovey since we got back to our room," retorted the blond.

Giving her partner the cliché _'You are kidding me, right?'_ look, Tettia replied as she verbally crossed her arms, "Alibaba. The moment we entered the room, you locked the door and pushed me onto the bed, where you then loomed over me just to look at me with those loving honey orbs. And that is how we've been for about… mmmmm… twenty minutes, maybe thirty."

"Fine, fine. Let's get ready," the blond sighed out, reluctantly getting off of the bed. Him and his lover then proceeded to pack things, the redhead making sure to pack plenty of food.

* * *

Everyone was at the docks, to bid the five youngsters goodbye and good luck. Tora looked at Tettia, sniffled and grasped her best friend by the shoulders, "Do me proud, Tet. Do me proud." Looking at the purebred Fanalis, the purplenette said, "Also, Morgiana, you do me proud, too. You're like a daughter to me."

Morgiana nodded, her eyes lighting up when Tora said that. "I will," she said with a small smile.

"Aye, aye, Tor! I will do ya proud," replied Tettia, jokingly saluting her best friend.

Marina, seemingly out of nowhere, attacked Tettia with a hug. "Be careful! Take care of everyone and don't let one person bear the whole burden of the group, understand me?" she said seriously, like a mother.

"Of course, Mari," chimed Aladdin in his normal cute tone.

Sinbad smiled at Marina's childish antic of attacking the half-Fanalis with a hug. Clearing his throat, he said, "As everyone has already said: be careful, keep each other safe, and most importantly — don't let each other die."

Tettia laughed at his statement, "Thanks for being blunt with us there, Sinny. Besides, I'll be there, they won't get themselves killed."

"Pisti will be going with you, so, you won't have to fight any sea monsters! Isn't that great!?" exclaimed Marina, clapping her hands together like an excited child.

Throwing her hands into the air, Tettia exclaimed, "WOOOOOHOOOOO! Pisti's gonna have SOOOO MUCH FUN!"

The older, yet short Pisti smiled at Tettia as she laughed, "Yeah I will! You seem like so much fun, Tettia!"

"Please, call me Tet! In the two years I was _queen_ , you never once called me Tet!" Tettia almost whined.

Giggling, the blonde said, "Fine. Tet, you seem like fun!"

Tettia smiled at Pisti's use of her nickname, she immediately hugged the short blonde. "It sounds so cute coming from you, Pisti!" Everyone laughed at the two's interaction. "Welp, I guess we should probably go, shouldn't we? So we can get this over with and be back shortly, eh?"

With both a chuckle and a nod, Sinbad replied, "Yes. You six should be on your way. Hopefully it does not take you too long to conquer the dungeon. Best of luck."

The six got onto the boat, waving goodbye to those they were temporarily leaving behind. "Bye, guys! I'll bring everyone back alive," joked Tettia.

* * *

It was a pleasant day on the sea, so far, nothing was out of place — nothing was going wrong. They had been sailing for several weeks now, and not once had they fought sea monsters, just like Marina had said. Morgiana stood on deck with everyone else, just looking ahead of them — the threat of sea monsters still there. And that was when a creature appeared from the sea. "It's a creature of the Southern Sea!" a soldier exclaimed at the seahorse-looking monster. "A creature of the Southern Sea has appeared!" another exclaimed.

From the sky, on her trusty bird, Pisti called from above, "Leave it to me!" Then the Artemyra princess blew into her red whistle, which calmed the beast. "There, there," said Pisti as she began to pet the creature, "You're a good obedient girl, aren't you? Now return to the sea!" The creature listened to her and retreated back to the sea.

Morgiana was throughly impressed as she said, "As expected… as long as we travel together with Pisti, we'll be safe."

That was when, suddenly, three dolphins broke the relatively calm surface of the ocean. Each dolphin carried one of three incredibly soaking wet people — one carried Tettia, another carried Alibaba, and the last one carried Aladdin. "Higher, higher!" laughed Aladdin as he hung onto his dolphin.

"Let's see who's the one that can jump higher, Aladdin! You in, Tet?!" asked Alibaba, confident that his dolphin could jump higher.

Smirking, Tettia accepted the challenge, "You better believe I'm in! And I'll jump higher than both you _and_ Laddin, Ali!"

Morgiana looked at the three of them, having what seemed like the most fun ever. Pisti noticed the way Morgiana was looking at her three other friends, flying over to her, she asked, "Do you want to try it, Morg!?"

"But I've never swam in the sea before," retorted Morgiana, putting her hands up in polite declination.

The red-eyed, short blonde smiled as she held her whistle. "It's all right. The dolphins are docile. They're friendly thanks to my flute! With my flute and my voice, I can match the wavelengths of their Rukh and make the animals my friends. I'm not particularly good with sea animals, so I can't do it with the bigger ones… because I get along the best with birds," she said.

After a few more minutes, the original dungeon capturing trio got off of the dolphins. "Ahh, that was a good swim," said Alibaba as he dried himself off.

Aladdin and Tettia were also drying themselves off. Aladdin had just jumped into the water with all his clothes on, not even caring to remove his jacket or chest wrapping — he was the only one to dive in with all his clothes on. Tettia had removed all of her clothes, opting to swim in her underwear, copying Alibaba who had done the same thing. "It was _incredibly_ fun," the bluenette and redhead said in unison.

Rocking back and forth on her heels, with her hands behind her back, Pisti giggled, "Really? That's great!"

They quickly put back on their clothes, smiling brightly as Aladdin said, "Yeah, thanks! Pis…ti?"

"Shouldn't you call me _Miss_ like you do with Yamu…?" questioned Pisti adorably.

Aladdin looked slightly up at Pisti, since there was not much of a height difference between them. " _Miss_ , you say?" he questioned.

The blonde nodded then pointed to Alibaba and Tettia, saying, "Yes, I'm one year older than both Alibaba and Tettia!" That meant that she was eighteen, whereas Alibaba and Tettia were both soon to be eighteen.

"EHH!?" the trio exclaimed in surprise.

Turning to Alibaba, Pisti smirked as she poked the blond in the gut. "Ah, excuse me~~ did that surprise you? Even though I look like this, I'm older than you. Plus… I have much more experience than you," she exclaimed.

Her exclamation had Alibaba blushing slightly, and Tettia snickering, "You haven't had more experience than me~ I may still be a maiden, but I did pretend to be married to Sinbad for about two or so years~!" Pisti laughed.

After that, the four went silent as Aladdin looked at the young-looking eighteen year old. He, then, proceeded to try and fondle Pisti — which he had no luck with, since Pisti did not have huge breasts. "Miss…!?" the young Magi question, puffing out his cheeks, wondering how she could possibly be that when she had no breasts.

Covering her chest, Pisti cried out, "That's mean, Aladdin!" Then she curled into a _corner_ (not really a corner, I mean, they are on a ship) and held Morgiana's hand, speaking sadly, "Ahhhh… I wonder why men like more flabby girls… it's terrible, Morg…"

"Yeah… I wonder…" the Fanalis sympathized with the blonde, as she was also categorized as flat-chested.

While Pisti went on a mini-tangent, Hakuryuu called, "Everyone, lunch is ready."

Alibaba, Tettia and Aladdin looked in his direction, then walked over to the table. The prince was holding a huge platter of food. "Uwaah! Wow, you cooked all that by yourself!?" the trio gaped at the food.

"To make a guest… furthermore, a prince of a country, cook…!" some sailors called.

Hakuryuu waved his hand in the air dismissively as he said, "Ah, don't worry. I couldn't just sit back and do nothing since I was so indebted to you, so this is my thanks… my sister taught me that I should provide for my own necessities as much as possible."

"Wow… your sister is strict towards her little brother," said Pisti.

Hakuryuu nodded as he answered her, talking sweetly of his sister, "Yes, she is almost like a mother to me."

"I see, and it's thanks to her that you've become such a reliable boy. In the future, you will be a perfect husband," Pisti said, after having eaten some of his food.

Alibaba, Aladdin and Tettia were stuffing their faces with the young imperial prince's delicious food. "That's right… Hakuryuu is so reliable, even though he is so young," said Alibaba as he ate his food.

"Your cooking is so good!" gushed Aladdin as he at food as well.

Tettia waited until she swallowed what food she had been chewing before saying with a bright smile, "I must agree! Haku, your food is delicious and I can see myself getting addicted to it!"

The prince smiled at the three of them. "That's good to hear," he replied to their compliments.

Pisti sweat-dropped at the bluenette and blond's rudeness, speaking while eating, and said, "You should learn a little from him… okay!?"

After that, Pisti and Hakuryuu talked and laughed throughout lunch. Morgiana looked at the two and said to her three closest friends, "When I heard he was a prince from the Empire… I imagined quite a different person."

"Yeah, but… he is a prince with social standings, right? The dungeon conquest… even though it's something really dangerous, I wonder why he was so anxious to come with us…" Alibaba said, leaning on Tettia.

The redhead looked over at her romantic partner and huffed, "What do you think you're doing? Leaning on me? But, I have wondered that too. He was so anxious to join us and he looked so excited when Sinny said yes. Also, can you believe it? That Sinny can't get anymore Djinns? That blows, but, I'm glad we can go adventuring again. We can celebrate when we get back!"

"No, I can't believe that. Why didn't he make Tora go, then? She isn't one of his Household Members, she could get a Djinn," questioned Alibaba, looking at his partner.

Shrugging, Tettia replied, "Hey, don't look at me. I'm sure Tor doesn't want that power. I mean, why would she? She's strong enough without a Djinn or Household Vessel."

Pisti chimed in, "It's true, actually. Tora has the strength of a Fanalis, which came from her being married to Masrur for a while… I think, at least, since she was thirteen and he was fifteen."

"WOW! They've been married for _five years_?!" gasped Tettia.

Artemyra's youngest princess smiled as she replied, "Yep! They sure do love each other. But, not to say that Tora was weak before they were married — quite the opposite, actually. Tora was very strong before she married Masrur, who trained her even more; I've actually heard, from King Sinbad, that from the young age of five-and-a-half, she was helping him and Ja'far."

"Oh yeah! And she had been traveling with Sinny since she was three and he was fourteen?! And then left to be with Massy for a while, then they reconvened with Sinny later."

"Exactly!" exclaimed the blonde.

Tettia laughed, "I remember her telling about that one night, drunk off her ass!"

Aladdin tugged on Tettia's skirt, exclaiming and pointing, "Tet! Pisti! We can see the land! But I can't see the dungeon."

Squinting, Tettia looked around for the dungeon. "Yeah… you're right," she said.

"Is the Sixty-first Dungeon, Zagan, just _after_ this reef?" the blond asked.

Aladdin and Tettia nodded at Alibaba's statement, as they replied, "But a big ship like this will not do… we will have to get aboard a small boat."

"Ah, that's right! This island is not part of Sindria's Territory! There are natives here, so don't do anything rude," explained Pisti.

"Natives?" questioned Aladdin and Tettia. "Wonder what kind of people they are," asked Morgiana. "Yes…" Alibaba trailed off.

Alibaba had wondered what Sinbad had meant when he told the blond that someone they knew was waiting for him. That was when they arrived, and Tettia exclaimed, "WE'VE ARRIVED!"

On the shore, fisherman hauled in their catches, children ran off with some of the men's catches. Once the boat reach the docks, Tettia jumped off the side of the boat and landed on the shore — she was unable to contain her excitement. Alibaba quickly followed after his partner, looking around. "Where's the garrison? He told us to go there first…" the blond asked, "Hey! Tet, come back here!"

Tettia looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him, but reluctantly slowed down and waited for him. "You're lucky I love ya so much, else I woulda left ya," she said.

"No, you would've waited for me and Aladdin," he replied, kissing her cheek as he came to stand beside her.

Opening her mouth to say something, she was cut off by a familiar voice, "Hey, you're late, Alibaba. We've been waiting for you…"

Tettia, Alibaba, Aladdin and Morgiana looked over to the source of the voice and their jaws all dropped. "…WHAAAT!?" the couple exclaimed in utter disbelief. Hakuryuu looked on asking himself mentally who these two men standing before them were. "Brother Sahbmad! Brother… Ahbmad…!?" exclaimed Alibaba.

Tettia, without warning, decked Ahbmad in the face, leaving a red, throbbing handprint behind. Oh, she was enraged at the sight of the moronic brat that caused Balbadd so much pain and suffering — the individual that lead to Cassim taking his own life to purge from power. "How. _dare_. you. show. up. here," she hissed at Ahbmad. She turned towards Sahbmad and smiled brightly, "Sahbmad! It's great to see you!" Everyone just ignored that Tettia had done that, seeing as she could not have done that back when they were in Balbadd without starting a war.

Hakuryuu looked apprehensive as he shook Sahbmad's hand. "Hehe, you were surprised, right? Long time no see, Alibaba… also, it's great to see you, too, Tettia. We were entrusted with guiding you! A-and, um… Sinbad already told us of the situation with the Kou Empire's prince… please don't be concerned," spoke Sahbmad.

Alibaba laughed and smiled brightly at his brother, "Ah, I was _really_ surprised! What's with the appearance?! What are you doing now?"

The older, more mature half-brother of the blond laughed nervously. "Sinbad didn't say anything to you, eh… we are working here, on this island, thanks to Sinbad's arrangements. As members of Sindria's archaeology investigation group…"

Both the blond and his redhead lover cocked their heads in confusion as they asked, " _Archaeology_ …?"

Sahbmad nodded, "That's right. This island is the island of the Toran Nation."

Everyone gasped at the name-drop. "Toran…?" asked Aladdin. "This is the island… of the Toran Nation!?" questioned Hakuryuu.

The Toran Nation, you see, was an enigmatic race that was scattered all throughout the world. Scholars are greatly fascinated by the _Toran Language_ that those people were able to use. The Toran language had form totally different from the common language used around the world, and was engraved on slates throughout the world — and above all, it was the mysterious language engraved on the interior of the Dungeon that appeared fifteen years ago. In order to research it, every country created an investigation team and dispatched them to Toran villages. As Hakuryuu spaced out, thinking, some small children ran up to him with objects, calling out, "Mister, mister!" After saying that in an understandable language, one of the two children had started to speak the Toran language.

"…? I don't understand what they're saying," muttered Hakuryuu.

Aladdin smiled and asked, "Wow, are you giving that to us?! Thanks!" The children then put stuff on the navy-haired prince and young bluenette Magi. Hakuryuu smiled as he squared down to the child, "I am thankful for receiving this!"

"Ah! That's not free! You have to pay," exclaimed Sahbmad.

Tettia laughed as she nudged Alibaba, saying, "I have a feeling you did something similar when you were living in the slums, am I right?"

"Yeah… you're right," Alibaba replied.

Hakuryuu and Aladdin whipped their heads around to look at Sahbmad. "EH!?" they questioned. "I will not… give you money…" Hakuryuu said as the child practically hung on him, trying to get money. Aladdin whined as the other child grabbed on him, "I can't give you anything! What should I do!? Teeeeet! Help me!"

"I don't know what to do here, Laddin," came her reply as she shrugged her shoulders. That was when Ahbmad gave the children something (I cannot tell if it is food or a jewel) so they would leave the outsiders alone. "…Ahbmad…" both Tettia and Alibaba muttered.

Ahbmad said something in their native language and the children left. After they left, the former king whipped his head around and looked uninterestedly at the redhead and blond. "What!?" he asked rudely.

Rolling her eyes, Tettia huffed, "Well, I was gonna thank you for that, but you just had to go and act rude."

The chubby male sighed and said, "You don't have to thank me. I just don't want any problems with the islanders. Because otherwise, they wouldn't let us proceed with our research on the Toran culture."

"…You're quite zealous about this research on the Torans…" Alibaba said to his brother.

Clutching his backpack strap and walking ahead of them, Ahbmad replied, "That's right. This is the best thing I can do right now… that's… what I have decided."

Tettia was slightly impressed, as was Alibaba. "Ahbmad… he has somewhat changed…" they said together.

"He has had the chance to contemplate about many things… this time, I want to talk about those things with you, Alibaba… and Aladdin and Tettia. Anyway, let's go," said Sahbmad, as he smiled at the original trio.

 _These people… aren't they disappointing as members of the royal family? They say that this 'is the best thing they can do' while their country is occupied!?_ thought Hakuryuu to himself, his blue eyes looking on in seriousness.

"What's wrong, Haku?" asked Tettia as she looked back at him with a big smile.

Smiling back at her, he answered, "No… it is nothing."

"Then c'mon, you adorable dork," laughed Tettia.

"We're at the village chief's house! We need his permission to go to the dungeon!" exclaimed Sahbmad.

Nodding her head, the half-Fanalis spoke, "I can respect that."

* * *

"No!" answered the chieftain of the village.

"What?!" the five friends questioned.

Sahbmad began translating as the chief talked, "You cannot go into the dungeon. That's the mouth of the devil! It's dangerous!"

"It's all right. We've already conquered a dungeon!" exclaimed both Alibaba and Tettia, smiling brightly.

Translating that to Toran, Sahbmad told the chieftain that. To which his response was, "The other dungeons are different. The Sixty-first Dungeon Zagan… devours those who want to conquer it. The people that go near it get dragged inside!"

That had Alibaba and Tettia gasping and saying, "The dungeon drags the conqueror inside by itself?! That's impossible!"

"A lot of people from the village were devoured by Zagan and none of them have returned. Therefore, I've created a law decreeing that none may go there…!" Translated Sahbmad.

Someone behind the chieftain said, "But chieftain… this is a request from King Sinbad…"

"Indeed… King Sinbad… sent them…" said the chieftain brokenly in the understandable language. Then he and some of his advisors (?) talked. "Alright… I will give you my permission!" Sahbmad translated.

"That's great!" exclaimed the friends.

"But if you must go, let these children guide you with their ship… they are my grandchildren. They are experts when it comes to steering a boat near the reefs," said the chieftain, through Sahbmad's translations, as he pointed towards three children. One being a cute young lady. "They will obviously only be able to accompany you for a certain distance towards the dungeon…"

The girl stared intensely at Hakuryuu. Looking over at her, he noticed her incessant staring and was confused at it. Why was she staring at him?

Alibaba shook the chieftain's hand, saying happily, "That's more than enough! Thank you for your kindness."

Shaking the blond's hand, he replied, through Sahbmad, "Don't worry about it." After that, they all left the chieftain's house. "You are that King Sinbad's guests… look. It is thanks to King Sinbad that this island's market is so prosperous," said the chieftain.

"Because of Sinny?" questioned Tettia.

Pointing over to a tower, the chieftain said, "Look, it's because Sindria's garrison is over there. The traders from off the island come here to visit us because they can sail and trade peacefully… also, King Sinbad welcomed us as equals. Since olden times, our people have been persecuted as an Ancient Clan, and we were driven out of many lands."

"Oh, that's terrible. But, I can see it now, Sinny got so drunk with you guys," laughed Tettia.

A member of the village came up and said, "Chieftain! The three merchants who just arrived have asked for the baptism."

"I see," the chieftain said himself.

"We've come from the Reim Empire to buy the fold craft articles of the Toran people. Chief… please bless us with the Toran baptism and your permission!" said the female of the group.

Sahbmad elaborated on what that was. "When the merchants enter the market, they are purified that way by the silver sands of this island…"

Tettia glanced at the black-robe-wearing _merchants_ , and immediately knew something was not right with them. She raised her hand, wanting to warn them of the dangerous, bad vibe she got from the three, but ultimately kept her mouth shut. The three walked by the friends and they did not give off a happy vibe. Once they walked away, Tettia growled to Alibaba, "I don't have a good feeling about them. I doubt they're even _merchants_."

"…Well then. Your departure for Zagan will be tomorrow morning!"

"Okay!" exclaimed Tettia with a smile.

* * *

Back in Sindria, Marina and Sarabi were getting ready to leave for Atlantis. Sinbad was quite upset. "Marinaaaaaaa! Do you _have_ to go back?" whined the king uncharacteristically.

Tora punched the purple-haired king in the shoulder. "Shut your fucking mouth, King Moron. Of course Mari has to go back, it's an emergency, isn't it?" she asked her long, golden-haired friend.

Nodding sadly, Marina replied, "Yeah… it's an emergency. Abi-poo is actually making me go back. I would send her back in my place, but you two know how she is…"

"…just like Killjoy," finished Tora.

"Exactly!" whined Marina. "I don't wanna go and leave you guuuuuuys!" She latched onto Tora, not wanting to let go. They were already at the docks, but even though she had been dragged that far, Marina did not want to go.

Sarabi rolled her eyes, grabbing onto the back of her best friend and queen's dress. "Release her," she said in a serious tone.

"I don't wanna!" whined Marina, clutching even more desperately to Tora.

Tora laughed as she slipped out of her friend's grip and replaced herself with Sinbad. "Look, I gotta go. Massy and I are gonna have a date night tonight, so… BYE," she exclaimed as she ran off.

"TORRRRAAAAA! COME BACK AND LOVE ME!" whined Marina childishly.

Sinbad did not know what to do. He started to pat his long-time friend's head. "Calm down, Marina, am I not good enough?" he asked with a chuckle.

"It's not _that_! I wanted to cling to Tora, not you!"

Sarabi sighed and tapped her foot in irritation. "SINBAD! Get her off of you! We have to go! It's important," she hissed.

"Marina, go and deal with whatever it is that you have to do. After you do that, you are free to return, you are always welcomed in my kingdom," he said with a gentle, sincere smile.

Marina looked up at Sinbad and reluctantly let go of him. "Fine…" she said with a pout. Walking over to Sarabi, the two got onto their awaiting futuristic ship — like everything that was Atlantian. "Let's go get this over with," she huffed like a child.

"Don't worry, Mari. We should be done with it and be back before the children return from their dungeon capturing quest," Sarabi tried to comfort her friend. She did feel terrible that they were being ripped away from their newly acquired friends, along with their old ones, but duty called. And as a queen and advisor of a kingdom, they had to do it.

* * *

The following day, the five friends were on their way to Zagan's Dungeon. Alibaba and Tettia were in one boat, manned by one of the two boys; Aladdin and Morgiana were in the boat manned by the other boy; Hakuryuu was in the boat manned by the girl who had been staring so intensely at him the previous day. Sighing and shielding her eyes from the sun, Tettia said, "After we pass… _those_ two islands, we will arrive at the dungeon!"

Aladdin pointed to the water and said, "Alibaba, Tet, there are gold, sparkling fish in the water! Gold!"

Both of them immediately whipped their heads, looking downwards. "Are you serious?" they asked curiously. Sure enough, there were.

"Be mindful of the reefs please…" their guide said.

Over on Hakuryuu's boat, the young woman tapped his shoulder before speaking in Toran, "Um… can you understand the Toran language?"

Hakuryuu answered her in her native language, "A little bit."

She pouted as she said in Toran, "I knew it… yesterday, you seemed more like the clever type, like the chief of your group. I have a favor to ask you…"

 _Chief, huh…_ he thought to himself. "I'm not their chief, but… what do you want to ask me?" he asked in Toran.

"Take me along with you to the dungeon, please! I want to help my mother and father…!" she answered in her native tongue.

"We've arrived! This is where the Zagan Dungeon is!" yelled Tettia with a huge smile. They hit the shore and everyone got out of their boats. "Thank you for bringing us here!" exclaimed Tettia and Aladdin as they waved at the retreating men.

Aladdin looked back at Tettia and Alibaba, the former was leaning on her blond lover. "How will we get back without a boat?" he asked his two closest best friends.

"I told them that I would light up a fire if we want them to come pick us up," replied Alibaba, slinging his arm around Tettia's shoulder.

Morgiana chuckled, "Don't worry. If it comes to that… I will carry the four of you and go across from one reef to another." She, then, showed off her leg ornaments, which she was using as arm ornaments, and they were shiny.

Laughing, Tettia replied, "Oh, Morg, you're funny! I'll be carrying Ali and Laddin~ you can carry Haku." Then she winked at the young Fanalis.

Alibaba and Aladdin laughed and then the young Magi gushed, "Ah, Morg, you put them on your arms!"

"Yes. They still don't do anything in particular, but…" she trailed off.

 _I really hope I become Ali's Household Vessel before Morgiana does… I don't want her to die, she's so young. She has so much to live for,_ Tettia thought to herself as she looked at the young Fanalis.

Off to the side, Hakuryuu was talking with the girl in Toran. "I cannot do that. You would be a hindrance. You cannot come with us into the dungeon," he replied.

"But…" the girl said, tears spilling from her eyes as she sniffled and pouted, "I want to save my parents who were devoured by the dungeon. If they're dead, I would like to take revenge!"

That was what got Hakuryuu. He knew a few things about wanting revenge. "I understand," he said, getting the girl's hopes up, but then continued, "I will do that in your place. I will find your parents for sure! If they are dead, I will destroy everything that nests in the dungeon. That will serve as revenge, right?" He took the girl by the shoulders and said, "So hurry back to the village and wait for my return, alright?" The girl was reluctant, but did so. With that girl being gone, they group began the climb towards the mouth of Zagan's dungeon.

* * *

"Have we arrived at Zagan yet…?" asked a panting Alibaba.

Aladdin and Tettia pointed to a far away hill, claiming, "I see it! It's there, right?"

Morgiana looked around in silence. Alibaba noticed this and asked, "What's wrong, Morgiana?"

"Something was shining just now…?" the young Fanalis said in a questioning tone.

That was when vines appeared around the group. "W-what?" the original trio exclaimed. One of the vines grabbed Aladdin. "LADDIN!" screamed Tettia as she immediately grabbed onto the vine before it escaped her grasp, then they were both pulled away, towards the dungeon's sacred gate. Once those two had disappeared, vines grabbed everyone else and dragged them into the sacred gate as well.

* * *

As Alibaba was being pulled into the Dungeon, he took his Metal Vessel in his hands. _It's been a while since that one time, but… I will complete a dungeon conquest this time as well!_ he thought to himself.

"I don't feel like doing it…" whined a voice. Alibaba looked over his shoulder, towards the voice and noticed someone slumped against a _wall_ (?). "I don't feel like doing it… because of my master… I don't feel like doing is…"

"Who… who is there…?" questioned Alibaba, stepping closer to the person. "Eh…!?"

"W-why…!?" whined the individual.

Now recognizing the man, Alibaba exclaimed. "A-Amon!?"

The two sat in awkward silence for a bit before Amon broke the silence, "Alibaba… what are your intentions…? You already have a Djinn… and you want to have an affair with another Djinn…?" The older Djinn slumped over, being to whine, "I don't feel like doing it… are you saying that you're dissatisfied with me…? Am I not impressing that girl, Tettia, enough anymore?"

 _Amon… at the beginning you gave me the image of a super powerful Djinn, but… was he always such a jealous and whiny old man…?_ the blond thought to himself, whispering to himself, "He's even sulking now…"

"Did you say something…?" asked Amon.

"No, nothing!" retorted Alibaba.

Amon soon sat up and said, "Are you alright with this!? Alibaba… there is no need to have two or three Metal Vessels in the first place, do you know that!? _Honestly_ … First and foremost, you don't have the ability!" Alibaba looked shocked at that revelation. Therefore, Amon continued, "We are able to understand it the moment we look at you. The necessary ability to use a Djinn… in other words, the quantity of Magoi a human has in their body! You have a quantity exceeding that of a normal human… but you are not a special human capable of using a great number of Djinns!" His blond master slumped over in disappointment. "But… you carry unusual potential and show promise."

"…eh…?" questioned Amon's blond master.

"You have often risked your life for the sake of other. During those times, the stagnating Rukh would begin to flow in an auspicious way. Your humble servant, Amon, decided to devote his powers to such a master. Complete the Djinn Equip, Alibaba! Zagan is an awful ruffian, but… I'm sure that we will be able to win if we are in sync!"

 _Amon! Thank you…!_ thought the blond. _I feel strangely calm… so reassuring… it's like I've become bigger… could it be that this is the feeling of 'becoming one with Amon'…!? It's like… yeah, it's just like… the strong hands of a magnificent hero are holding me…_

Tettia was looking down at her blond lover, who she was currently holding. When she heard Alibaba groaning and opening his obviously dazed honey-brown eyes. "Ah, wakey-wakey, sleeping beauty! We've been waiting for you, lover-boy," she said with a laugh.

"Ah… hey, Tet…" he muttered, "Please put me down…"

Putting him down, Tettia snickered, "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, we're right below the starting point."

Hakuryuu, Aladdin and Morgiana sat off to the side. "I'm glad that Morg and Tet were the first to get here!" exclaimed Aladdin.

Wrapping an arm around the young Magi's neck, Tettia pulled him close to her, ruffling his hair. "Awwwwww! You're so sweet, Laddin!"

Aladdin laughed at his long time best friend's action. Suddenly, he was taken away from Tettia, as Morgiana had picked up the three guys. "Okay, let's go down," she said.

Placing a hand on her hip, Tettia stared blankly at the Fanalis, who was obvious trying to make herself feel useful. Before the half-Fanalis could say something, Hakuryuu spoke, his face erupting in a blush (whether out of embarrassment of affection, Tettia could not deduce), "L-lady Morgiana! Don't overdo yourself, please. We must be heavy… for the arms of a woman, right!? If we have to go down, I will carry you!"

"You're not heavy," simply replied Morgiana.

Clearing her throat, Tettia grabbed Aladdin and Alibaba from the purebred's arms. "I can carry my lover and best friend, thank you, Morgiana. Stop trying to put all the responsiblities of carrying heavy things on yourself. We have two Fanalis' for a reason! Anyways, have some alone time with Haku, BAI!" she said then jumped off the side of the platform they were on.

Morgiana and Hakuryuu were left, jaws slightly agape at the half-breed's statement.

"You're literally amazing, Tet," said Alibaba as he snickered.

Aladdin was laughing as well, "Yeah! Did you just want to get the HakuMor rock rolling?"

"You both know that's exactly why I did that. And, she's annoying me thinking that she can take on all the weight effortlessly. I don't care if she is a pure-Fanalis or not, you shouldn't strain yourself like that," replied Tettia.

Alibaba smiled as they touched down on the ground at the bottom of the dungeon's entrance. "It's comforting. Knowing how much you care for her," he said.

"They still haven't jumped yet," said Tettia.

Soon after she had said that, the two others jumped down as well. Once they were all down on the floor, they all looked around. The dungeon was decorated with beautiful foliage. Alibaba, Tettia and Aladdin gushed, saying, "This… this is the Zagan Dungeon!? Incredible~ it's so beautiful!"

"I had only heard frightening rumors about it, but… it is so beautiful! Just like you, Tet," the blond said, smiling goofily while looking at his redhead lover.

"Oh hush you," replied a blushing Tettia.

Aladdin laughed had his best friends and said, "It's full of mysterious flowers! Ah, look, Alibaba, Tet! There are several different shapes!"

Squealing happily, Tettia said, "Where should we begin!? That's the way dungeons are, after all~!" Morgiana looked on at her three friends with a small smile.

A turtle dropped from the dungeon and Alibaba pointed at it, saying, "Ah… it's a turtle. So there are turtles in dungeons, too!"

"It's so small and cute~! Just like you, Laddin!" gushed Tettia, pulling the young Magi close to herself once again. The three of them squatted down close to the turtle, giggling like children at a candy shop.

But, that was when it took a creepy turn. "You… look _super_ delicious…" the turtle said, revealing sharp teeth inside its small mouth, drool trickling from the corner of its mouth. "You look delicious. You look delicious," it repeated.

"Okay, now that's hella creepy. That turtle is fucking talking," squealed Tettia, hiding behind her blond lover.

The turtle bit Hakuryuu and he started to freak out, "Wha… what's with this thing!? Don't eat me!"

"Calm down, Hakuryuu!" advised Aladdin. He squatted down and a turtle bit him. "Looks like they are really just normal turtles! Although it talks… it doesn't hurt either. Ah, that's right. See, Drakon can speak, too," the young Magi reminded everyone as the turtle continued to repeat the phrase.

Alibaba sighed, "He was a person from the beginning, Tet! Well… it should be normal for there to be talking creatures in the dungeon."

"Now that you've mention it… the ants in the seventh dungeon can speak too… I've seen them imitating the words of Master before…" said Morgiana.

Aladdin pet the turtle and said, "This turtle too, I wonder if it had just remembered the words of people who were sucked in?"

Slapping himself in the face gently, Hakuryuu reminded himself what he needed to do while in this dungeon. Save that girl's parents, and if they were dead, get revenger for her. Alibaba exclaimed, "Alright! We'll advance calmly no matter what comes our way from now on!"

"YEAH!" exclaimed Tettia and Aladdin, punching the air.

They all headed towards a door and opened it, revealing some creatures. "What are you?" the creature asked. Alibaba went to another one, opening another one, revealing more creatures, which said, "You look pretty delicious." Promptly, Alibaba was opening another one. A sunflower creature, which immediately attacked them, screeching, "You look delicious! I'll swallow you whole!" Then all the creatures started attacking them, trying to restrain them.

"What are these things!?" Hakuryuu exclaimed. "Isn't it better if we don't open any more doors!?"

Alibaba looked over his shoulder at the navy-haired prince and replied, "No… if we want to conquer this dungeon, we must figure out the location of the Djinn's Treasury and head there first. We've got to find the path to advance from within here!"

"It doesn't have any markings like Amon's dungeon, either," pouted Tettia.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Alibaba said, "Don't worry, Tet, we'll figure it out. Anyway, let's just try opening all the doors!"

Nodding, Tettia agreed, "Aye!"

Hakuryuu noted how everyone was acting so calm, then he went in to kill the sunflower creature, before Aladdin and Tettia stopped him, "Ah— wait, Hakuryuu! It looked like it only wants to protect its children."

"Ah, hey, take a look, Aladdin! You too, Tet!" exclaimed the blond. The young bluenette and older redhead walked over to Alibaba as he pointed this fact out, "On a closer look, it's just their homes beyond these doors."

Tettia held her chin and said, "Could it be that everyone was just angry because their house's door was opened suddenly?"

"Everyone, over here," called Morgiana, pointing to something she found. "I've found a hidden path."

They entered the hidden path, revealing a secret grotto where the dungeon creatures were doing their jobs. Aladdin gasped, "Whoa! Everyone is either cutting trees… or gathering food. I wonder is it's for their families." The five of them watched the little creatures go about their daily lives. "Somehow, this feels like…" started Aladdin.

"Yeah…" replied the lovers in unison. "It may be that in a dungeon, they have a communal system of livelihood… that may not even be that different compared to our own…" they said once again. "This isn't a weird place at all! As long as we advance calmly while keeping to the rules of this dungeon… we'll have nothing to fear," continued Alibaba zealously.

In total agreement, the group followed the small creatures. Aladdin, Tettia and Alibaba swinging their arms as they walked, singing along with the creatures, "Heave-ho~ heave-ho~." When they all rounded a corner, they were met with a large white bear creature. They all stopped dead in their tracks as they looked up at it with wide eyes.

"Spare me some honey?" it asked.

Throwing her arms into the air, Tettia turned around, saying, "Nope. Nope. Hell nope. IIIIII'm out, I think I'mma just go back to the beginning of the dungeon and wait there."

Grabbing her arm, Alibaba pulled her back close to him. "Calm down… looking closely, there is nothing to fear from this guy," he said.

"Okay, I mean, yeah… there's not," replied Tettia. That was until she heard something from above, which caused her to groan, "Not anymore!"

"What do you mean by that, Tet?" asked Aladdin.

Tettia looked at him and asked, "Did you not just hear that from above? I know Morg did."

Shaking his head, Aladdin replied, "I didn't hear anything."

"Spare me some honey. Spare me some honey," it said, raising one of its paws.

"Sor… sorry. We don't have any on us," the bluenette and his redhead best friend.

Then the white bear creature smashed the sunflower creatures. "GIVE ME HOOOONNEEEYYYY!" it screamed loudly, transforming into a terrifying anger-filled monster.

"Tch! This guy…!?" exclaimed Tettia. Everyone jumped out of the way as the large, angry creature charged at them, only Hakuryuu was unable to move. "Run away, Haku!" exclaimed the redhead half-Fanalis.

Alibaba looked back and saw Hakuryuu standing, frozen in fear. "What's wrong, Hakuryuu!?"

The creature readied itself to pound Hakuryuu into the ground, but Morgiana stopped its paw and flipped it. "Alibaba!" she yelled.

"Amon's Sword!" yelled Alibaba as he landed a blow on the creature.

"HONEYY~!" it still screamed.

Aladdin flew above it on his turban as he raised his staff. "I told you, we don't have any! Halharl Infigar!" Returning to normal, the creature ran away.

The young Magi and blond were immediately tackled to the ground by the excited Tettia. "That helped a lot~! I'm sorry I couldn't have helped, Morg acted so fast I didn't know what to do!"

"It's okay, Tet!" they two boys replied. While they were laughing on the ground, Hakuryuu gasped and looked on with wide eyes.

Tettia helped them off of the ground, before turning her attention to Morgiana. "Are you okay? Didn't hurt yourself, did ya?" she asked like a worried mother, looking over Morgiana.

"I'm fine. I'm fine, I promise, Tet," she replied, smiling at the older half-Fanalis.


	25. Inside Zagan's Dungeon

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Inside Zagan's Dungeon**

 **A/N: Had a lot of fun writing this, hopefully I did justice to Mari and Sara when they return to Atlantis…**

* * *

"That white animal really surprised me," spoke Aladdin as he watched the creature flee.

Tettia and Alibaba walked over to Hakuryuu, in order to make sure he was alright. "Haku, your face is pale. You all right?" asked the half-Fanalis, comfortingly rubbing his back.

Hakuryuu tightly gripped his spear. "I'm alright…" he answered.

Looking at Morgiana, Aladdin noticed a wound and asked, "Morg, are you alright, too?"

Upon hearing that statement, Tettia whipped her head around to look at the pure-Fanalis. Sure enough, she was bleeding slightly from her arm. "Morgiana! I thought you said you were fine and not hurt," she exclaimed.

Morgiana looked at her bleeding arm and shrugged. "Tet, I am fine. That monster's claws just grazed me," she said.

As Tettia threw a small motherly/sisterly fit over that, exclaiming about what if the creature's claws were laced with a deadly poison, Hakuryuu looked at Morgiana with a shocked look. Him freezing up like that caused Morgiana to get hurt trying to protect him. "Um… Lady Morgiana, sorry for what happened because of me… and also Aladdin, Alibaba, Tettia… I will not be a hindrance from now on," spoke Hakuryuu seriously.

"Don't worry about it. It was really nothing," came Morgiana's response.

Alibaba and Tettia smiled and answered, the latter waving her hand comically in front of her face in a dismissive manner, "Hakuryuu, you are too serious!"

Hearing a noise, they all looked back, eyebrows raised in confusion. "What is it? It's from the first room…?" they all questioned as they ran over to the entrance. Walking back through the entrance, they saw a familiar young girl. "Eh!? Why is that _kid_ here!?" the lovers questioned.

The young girl was on the floor, her knife held out in front of her, tears flowing from her eyes. Not to mention that she was surrounded by the dungeon creatures. Sighing, Tettia dragged her lover with her over to the girl and creatures. "Hey, little ones, she meant no harm to you or your families. Please go back to your lives, I apologize for the interference and trouble," she said, kneeling down to get closer to the creatures.

"Yeah, we apologize for the girl's actions. She has likely never done this before," followed Alibaba. The creatures looked at them and as they walked back towards their homes, the lovers waved goodbye at them, hoping that the creatures will not be disturbed again.

Aladdin, Hakuryuu and Morgiana stood around the girl, all of them looking down at the weeping girl. "I told you _not_ to follow us," the two-toned-blue eyed imperial prince reprimanded the girl.

She continued weeping and sobbing. Aladdin looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "I see. You entered here to help your mother and father."

Sighing, Hakuryuu looked at the original trio and apologized, "I apologize, this is my responsibility. I should have had stopped her with more force… to think that she would be dragged into this as well."

The trio smiled at him, Aladdin saying, "Don't feel so down, okay?"

Hakuryuu sighed out, "Sorry," and slumped forward a bit.

Patting his right shoulder, Tettia said with a smile, "How should I phrase is… you're _so_ serious that you're surprisingly troublesome. Try loosening up a bit, we're friends now, you should try to get comfortable with us."

"I couldn't agree more, Tet," the blond voiced, kissing his lover's cheek. After that, he turned to the girl and, placing a hand on her shoulder, stated in Toran, "It is alright, we are strong so we will safely conquer this dungeon together with you and your parents!"

"Yes. I'm sorry… thank you…" the girl sobbed out. As the three original best friends comforted her, Hakuryuu and Morgiana stood behind them and watched. The way those three smiled so warmly at a stranger was mind-boggling to witness.

"I will _not_ let you do that," came a male's voice. The six's eyes widened in surprise as they looked upwards, where the voice had came from. Up on a leaf-platform, there stood a masked blue-skinned man, a second later the man jumped down. Petting the creatures, he asked, "Are you all right, Francois…? Are you hurt, Marianne?" The creatures answered him. "I see… there, there."

Looking at the man, Tettia asked what everyone was thinking, "Who the hell is he…?"

"You… you will do me a favor and _not_ bully my cute little bears, alright?" he asked, snapping his fingers, growing in size. "Welcome to my _stylish_ dungeon! I'm the sixty-first Djinn, Zagan," he introduced himself.

Jumping into her battle-stance, Tettia sputtered out in confusion, "T-the Djinn suddenly… appeared…!? What the hell?!"

Zagan smiled as he snatched up the village girl suddenly. Bringing her close to him, he said, "Humph. This is just an ordinary girl from the village. I didn't bring her here…"

"Stop!" cried out Hakuryuu, pointing the blade of his spear at the towering Djinn, "Let her go!"

Tilting his head to the side, Zagan hummed in thought. "…eh?" He, then, licked the girl and continued, "What should I do… after you say something like that to me…? This girl~ I wonder where you are most delicious~?" Zagan held the girl upside down and opened the her legs, which resulted in her desperately held her skirt down (or up in that instance) and shouting in Toran.

Tettia's eyes widened at the mere thought of what Zagan had meant. That was disgusting and unbecoming of a _noble_ Djinn to do. Both she and Hakuryuu shouted in anger, "You _bastard_!"

Alibaba had already drawn his blade, suddenly his blade started to shine and something came out of it. Amon appeared. "A-Amon!?" exclaimed a surprised Alibaba and Tettia.

Amon looked down at Alibaba as he spoke, "Sorry Alibaba. I used a little of your Magoi… I have to confirm something with him…"

The moment Amon came out of the sword, Zagan had groaned. Rolling his eyes, the other male Djinn said in an irritated tone, "Tsk… Amon… of _all_ things… the most nagging, stinking old man…"

Stroking his white beard, Amon asked, "Zagan… do you _still_ intend to _not_ choose a _king_?"

"Heh… that's right! I _REALLY_ ~ hate human! That's why I will not choose a human, and go there in that ugly world on the other side where humans hate each other…" Zagan then doubled over, covering his mouth like he was going to be sick. "Uoooeh I feel so awful… I will _not_ go there even if they kill me," the childish-acting Djinn muttered. After that moment, he was back to smiles as he continued, "It is a lot better to live here together with these stylish labyrinth creatures I created, while I kill time bullying those eyesore humans that wander aimlessly around my dungeon!"

Sucking in air through her teeth, the half-Fanalis clutched tightly onto her twin daggers. "That fucking bastard," she spat through gritted teeth.

Hakuryuu thrusted his spear at Zagan, saying threateningly, "Hey! Let her go!"

Staring at the imperial prince a few moments, Zagan replied in a sing-song voice and a wave of his hand, "Okay~" However, he did not let the girl go right then, oh no, he decided to retreat to the treasury. "If you make it to the treasury! I will prepare a path for you," he exclaimed.

True to his word, Zagan made a door appear. Everyone looked at it; Tettia sighed out angrily, "What the hell…? Someone like him is _really_ a Djinn…!?"

"It's alright… he is a Djinn… and he still has the disposition of choosing a king's vessel if someone arrives at the treasury… as proof fro that, just a moment ago he appraised you…" said Amon, suddenly disappearing, just like he had appeared.

Shocked at the suddenness of his Djinn's appearance and now disappearance, Alibaba questioned, "A-Amon! What's wrong? You appeared all of the sudden, and now you're disappearing!?"

The older Djinn answered his master, "Yes… because this time I am not borrowing the Magi's power… since the concentration of Rukh inside of the dungeon is high, I can materialize by much less Magoi than needed on Earth, but this is the limit."

"On Earth, it takes a great amount of power. Was that the reason why no matter how many times I called for you, you didn't appear?" questioned Alibaba.

Shaking his head, Amon answered, "No… because a Djinn should not materialize on Earth. The Djinn, in the end, is a pure power that a king of the Earth uses… King Solomon made us for that reason. Goodbye Alibaba… we will probably not meet each other for a while…"

Alibaba approached his Djinn as the old man fell (?) over, "Amon…!"

"That's right… Alibaba… there is… one last thing I have to say to you…"

"What is it!? Amon!" exclaimed a worried Alibaba.

"I… I… soon… I'll give birth…" muttered the Djinn rubbing his stomach and then disappeared.

With a blank look on her face, Tettia said in a flat tone, "Welp, that was weird…"

Furrowing his eyebrows in utter confusion, the blond answered his lover, "Yeah… what the hell is he saying? That old man…"

Patting his shoulder, Tettia responded, " _Yeeeeeeaah_ … it was a little… gross…"

Aladdin walked towards the door with Hakuryuu and Morgiana, calling out to his best friends, "Let's go, Alibaba, Tet!"

The lovers looked over their shoulders at their young bluenette best friend before following after them to the door. Opening the door, the five of them stepped into the room. Looking at the path, Tettia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "So… _this_ is that _one path_? It's not much of one…"

"Right? Like we can pass through this… plus those creatures… things will be bad if we fall," the blond pointed out.

Aladdin looked over at the half-Fanalis and blond as he also pointed out, "For now, they seem docile. What should we do?"

Being looked at on both sides of him, by the crimson eyes of his lover and the blue eyes of his best friend, Alibaba took a moment. Taking in a deep breath, he said, "We have to go! No matter what kind of traps await us, this is the path towards the treasury!" The two individuals beside him smiled and they began descending the blocks.

Tettia was helping Aladdin and Alibaba down, while Morgiana was helping Hakuryuu. Doing that on purpose, the half-Fanalis snickered to herself, "How long do you two think it's gonna take for them to end up together?" The two boys shrugged. "You two are not fun at predicting this stuff with…" she pouted.

"I'm sorry, Tet," the blond replied. Tettia rolled her eyes and kissed him on the cheek.

From above them, Zagan's voice echoed, "You have a Magi _plus_ Amon with you. You are too strong… I will raise the dungeon level a lot!"

Looking up, the semi-wavy haired half-Fanalis sighed and spoke out sarcastically, "Yeah. Yeah. _Thanks_ , Zagan. Really appreciate it!"

Something played and the once docile faceless bunny doll creatures suddenly morphed into monsters. Their faces opened up from the x-stitch at the center of their face. "I will crush you flat!" they bellowed out in demonic voices.

"Oh, lookie there… I _totally_ wasn't expecting that," Tettia, again, spoke out sarcastically, "Whoop-dee-do, it's the same voice that caused that white monster started rampaging. Must be Zagan's song that makes the labyrinth creatures become ferocious."

They were surrounded by vicious creatures that were once docile. The once stable blocks they stood on were now being moved around violently by the monsters. "We will kill you…!" they droned demonically.

"We can't advance like this!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Hakuryuu readied his spear and lunged towards one of the creatures, "In that case… we have to defeat them all and block their movements!" As the blade of his spear tried to land a blow, it was repelled and that shocked Hakuryuu and Tettia.

Zagan could be heard laughing as he said, "That's useless. These children are magic users! Their best techniques are floating magic and the Bolg!"

The navy-haired prince was sent flying. Morgiana sprung into action, wrapping her legs around one of the creatures' head (kind of in a headlock, but with her legs), she caught Hakuryuu with minimal effort. "Lady Morgiana…!" the prince exclaimed. A blush immediately painted his face and he stumbled out, "Um… for a girl to hold me in her hands… you can put me down…"

"Don't move, please," came her crisp voice.

Alibaba drew his blade, "Bolg…? In that case…!" He activated Amon's flames and stabbed at the creature, its barrier breaking. "I knew it! Amon's flames are working! Could it be because it is a power from the Magoi!?"

Tettia looked around, all the creatures moving around spastically. "Dammit! If they continue to fly around like this… Amon's sword will never reach them! Plus, I can tell you don't have much Magoi left since Amon materialized," she said. Never before had she felt so useless in a battle, her daggers who have no effect.

Laughing at Alibaba's attempts of attacking, Zagan spoke condescendingly, "What? With that dull of attacks you cannot win against my little bunnies that can freely flap their wings!"

"Freely flap their wings… in that case, I can do it!" exclaimed Aladdin as he produced a fireball, which quickly multiplied into many fireballs. Everyone else looked on in shock.

Alibaba gasped and shouted, "What the hell is that!?"

"There are fireballs… around the Magi…!?" questioned Zagan.

With a serious look in his eyes, Aladdin said, "Halhaal… saras!" The fireballs shot forth and followed the creatures, the magic landing and destroying them.

Looking on, still feeling useless, Tettia clenched the handles of her daggers in a vice-grip-like grasp. _I want to help! I need to help! I'm not going to sit here and let Laddin and Ali do all the work!_ she thought seriously to herself. As Aladdin continued to destroy the creatures, they started to assemble into one giant monster rabbit.

"We will kill you!" it said in a deep, demonic voice.

"Alibaba!" shouted Aladdin, readying more fireballs.

 _I WILL BE HELPFUL!_ mentally yelled Tettia as she jumped in front of Aladdin's magic. _You will be helpful, Tettia. Take my power and use it wisely. Use my power to help our master, Alibaba_ , a voice in her head said. Instead of being burned by the fireballs, her daggers absorbed them and used it as fuel. Alibaba looked on in complete surprise as Tettia took his place and sliced the monster in half, successfully killing it.

Aladdin had not noticed that it was not Alibaba until he looked up. "T-Tet?!" he asked in utter confusion.

Looking at her daggers, the way they were surrounded by fire — Amon's fire, to be exact — Tettia's mouth gaped open. "I-I… umm…" she said with a nervous laugh. Had she really just become Alibaba's Household Vessel? Tettia looked at Alibaba's expression, which was a cross between amazed and confused, and shrugged. "I… umm… think I just became a Household Vessel of yours, Ali?" she questioned, her voice going up in pitch as she reached the end of her question.

It took the blond a few minutes to absorb all that had just happened. Blinking slowly, he slowly accepted it. "Wow! Congratulations, Tet!" he called, running over to her just to pick her up bridal style and nuzzle his cheek against her own. Alibaba then began lavishing Tettia with numerous kisses: sweet and chaste kisses on the cheek, protective kisses on her forehead, and one single loving and lingering kiss on her lips.

All of the suddenness of being lavished with kisses from Alibaba, especially the kiss on the lips — in front of everyone, had Tettia's face turn a bright red. Not to say she did not kiss him back, because she did, just not for an extended period of time. "T-thanks, Ali…" she muttered quietly. "Now… please put me down." Not needing to be told twice, Alibaba put Tettia down, despite not really wanting to do that.

Looking at his best friend in amazement, Aladdin said as he attacked her with a hug, "That was _amazing_ , Tet! I'm so happy for you!"

"Awwww~ thank ya, Laddin! C'mere!" Wrapping her arms around the young Magi, she lifted him up and gave him a big, loving hug. "You're the best~! I couldn't've actually unlocked it without you and Ali doing most of the work! But now I can help, as long as you keep giving me power-ups with that magic of yours," she claimed, kissing Aladdin's cheek then smiling.

Laughing at her actions, Aladdin looked up at her (since he was buried face-first into her chest) and responded, "Of course! I give Alibaba power-ups, don't I? Why wouldn't I give my best friend them, too?"

Tettia ruffled his blue hair as he looked up at her from her breasts. "Even now, you're still as perverted as ever. I didn't even notice you burying your face in them," she laughed.

Watching the trio's interactions with one another, Morgiana and Hakuryuu were kind of left out. Morgiana felt irrelevant at that moment because, without the promise of being Alibaba's Household Vessel, she was useless compared to Tettia and she knew that. The half-Fanalis was more flexible than the purebred was — Tettia was exceptionally skilled in both hand-to-hand combat and sword/knife skills, which was better than just being good with one thing like Morgiana was. On top of that, the older half-Fanalis also had a larger Magoi capacity than Morgiana would ever have, so the pure-Fanalis would have been severely restricted in her use of her possible Household Vessel. Despite all of that, Morgiana did not bear any animosity towards Tettia — no, the younger purebred Fanalis saw Tettia as a good friend, possibly even as a sister.

While Morgiana's emotions of feeling useless swirled inside of her, Hakuryuu was also feeling the same kind of emotions. _They are… strong…_ ** _so_** _strong! If I have to compare myself… with them…_ he thought to himself, his grip on his spear tightening.

* * *

The five of them passed through the room after that. As they walked through the hallway, Tettia said, looking down at her blue-haired best friend, "Well… you were incredible, Laddin."

Alibaba chimed in, "Yeah! What was that move you just did?"

The young blue-haired Magi laughed at his best friends, "Fu fu fu fu… it is one of the new magic I learnt! Halhaal saras is a middle level magic that is a lot complicated because it uses a lot of ceremonial orders… it is exhausting because you have to concentrate!"

"Hohoho… you are beginning to sound like a magic user," the lovers said, chuckling and looking at their friend.

Aladdin looked semi-prideful as he once again laughed, "Fu fu fu fu… or so Yamu told me."

Both the young Magi's blond and crimson-haired best friends fell over comically when he said that. The blond ruffled his hair, almost like a noogie, and said, "You were just repeating her words! You had Tet and myself all excited that you were sounding like a magic user!" Aladdin laughed.

Behind the trio, Hakuryuu and Morgiana walked side-by-side. Morgiana took notice of Hakuryuu acting different, as if he were hurt. "Are you alright, Hakuryuu? Were you hurt somewhere during the previous fight?" asked Morgiana, looking over at the navy-haired prince.

"Ah, no… umm… Lady Morgiana… and the others too, I have a favor to ask…"

"What is it?" the four replied.

Hakuryuu continued, "I knew that my power would not be enough… and even if I'm very sorry because you saved me several times, I'm also very grateful. But, even in that case… before that… would you make me conquer this dungeon…? Without using your powers…"

Tilting her head, Tettia spoke, "What are you talking about, Haku?"

"No matter what happens, don't help me. I want to survive in this dungeon by my own power alone! Ignore me, even if I'm dying," the navy-haired prince said, waving his hand almost dismissively in front of himself.

Alibaba looked at him and said, "Hakuryuu… you… should not be so reserved!" That caused the imperial prince to look at the blond with a _'you are kidding me, right?'_ face. "Aren't you thinking too seriously about this? I think that it is a good thing if we help each other! So don't sweat it and rely on us! Okay?!"

Aladdin threw his hands into the air and said, together with Tettia, "He is right!" Then the Magi continued on by himself, "I still have _lots_ of techniques left!"

"Don't sweat it… you say?" he repeated questioningly. His two-toned eyes looking at the hand of Alibaba, which for some reason was outstretched near him. Slapping it away, he erupted with a loud, "Something like that… should be alright!? I'm… a prince, you know… I'm not in a position that I can be satisfied by borrowing someone else's help. I have to do something to get Zagan to accept my power…"

"Haku…" sighed Tettia.

Sighing, Alibaba said to the prince, "You know, don't tell that to us. I know how you feel, but…"

"I don't need you to pretend like you understand me," interrupted Hakuryuu.

"I'm _not_ pretending! You know… in the past I…" said Alibaba in a serious tone. Tettia entangled her fingers with his, thinking he was actually going to go into detail about his past.

However, Zagan's voice came from above, once again, "Navy-haired boy, you are right! You are helping each other too much, and that troubles me. You are too strong, so… if you fight together, I find it difficult to see through your singular strength. That's why, for the next test… you will be divided into two groups and fight by yourself."

"Divided… into two groups…?" they all questioned the Djinn.

Zagan made two doors appear and said, "From now on, you will be divided into two groups and go separate ways! At the end of each path there is a goal. But, if both groups don't reach the goal, no one can advance."

"Two groups, huh…" said the blond.

"How should we form them?" asked the half-Fanalis.

Zagan laughed, "What are you talking about? It is obvious that _I_ will choose the group arrangements as I like!"

"EH?" the group questioned.

The ruffian Djinn chose Alibaba, Aladdin and Tettia to be one group while Morgiana and Hakuryuu were the next group. He was not happy that it was not equal, but what could be have done?

* * *

And thus, the five were split up. Walking down the corridor, Tettia, Alibaba and Aladdin were laughing and conversing. "I really hope Haku and Morg hit it off~! She needs to try and get someone else's attention for once," the half-Fanalis spoke with a grin.

"What do you mean by that, Tet?" asked the young Magi.

Humming, Tettia tried to think of a way to say what she was thinking — without being rude to Morgiana. "Umm… well, it's kinda like… I saw she had feelings for Ali… and she can't have those feelings for him anymore. Since Ali is _my_ romantic partner now. Get it?" she explained, kind of straightforward.

Nodding his head, Aladdin answered, "Aaaaaah! I see now! I don't see why Morg even needs a romantic interest anyways…"

"Yeah… it's not like she's always showing a plethora of emotions, Tet. She _barely_ shows any sign of anything, really," interjected Alibaba.

"I know, I know! Yet, she clearly showed interest in you, Ali. And the **_only_** reason she even bears any _feelings_ towards you is because, since you had the money, you freed her from slavery. The two of you weren't meant to be, anyways — there's no chemistry between you two, it's just… _flat_. Ya know what I'm talking about? And the fact that she wanted gain the usage of a Household Vessel to seem useful to us, probably Ali in particular, is just proof of her feelings…" Tettia sighed, shaking her head, "I really hope she warms up to Haku, and ends up falling in love with him. Because, _you_ ," she locked arms with Alibaba and leaned against him, "are off the market~!"

Tilting his head to the side, Aladdin said with hints of confusion, "I don't understand why Morg would even need to feel like she is useful? She's very useful the way she is…"

"EXACTLY!" shouted Tettia in agreement. "There is absolutely no reason why Morg feels the way she does. After all, she's better at hand-to-hand combat than I am, and she is just slightly faster than I am on her feet. Morgiana's _always_ been better at hand-to-hand than I have been, even before she started training with Tor and Mas — and she was untrained when we first met her!"

Alibaba nodded, "True… she was untrained back then." Just after the blond said that, the statues around the trio came to life.

"Welp, fuck me…" muttered Tettia.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hakuryuu and Morgiana walked down their path in awkward silence. Both said nothing as they walked, not knowing what to say — usually the Magi and his two best friends would be talking. Talking and dragging the two others into a conversation. Now, with those lively three gone and on their own path, there was nobody to drag the quiet two into speaking. Turning his two-toned eyes towards the Fanalis, the prince broke the awkward silence, "Umm… I wonder how the other three are doing."

Slightly turning her head to look at the imperial prince, Morgiana answered simply, "Yes." Well, so much for breaking the awkward silence; that just made things even more awkward for the two of them. _I wonder why he divided us into groups like this…_ the young Fanalis thought to herself.

"Splitting the enemy's battle power, huh…? That's great," said Hakuryuu.

Looking back over at him, Morgiana grunted a questioning, "Eh?"

The look on the prince's face was one of a frown and a serious glint in his eyes as he spoke truthfully, "This way I can complete this _without_ borrowing their help, and don't worry about me, just be concerned about your own safety."

The young Fanalis just looked blankly at the imperial prince. _This person… why is he refusing help so stubbornly…? I don't understand his reasons. But… I feel like I have already had this kind of talk with someone else before… I wonder why_ , she thought to herself. In front of them, a statue moved and came to life.

* * *

Statues had come to life, blocking their path forward. "The statue moved!" exclaimed Aladdin, holding his staff in a battle-ready way.

Alibaba and his lover had already drawn their blades and were ready for a fight. "So the enemy this time is a giant made of rocks," the blond pointed out.

"I wonder if Morg and Hakuryuu are all right…" the bluenette said worriedly.

Looking over her shoulder as Alibaba activated Amon's Sword, Tettia answered her young best friend, "I'm sure they are! Morg can fucking one-shot any enemy with her kicks!" After saying that, she and Alibaba began attacking the statues — Tettia tapping into Amon's Flames to give her blades magic properties.

* * *

Morgiana's attack failed and she held her shin in pain. Zagan laughed as he pointed out, "Hahaha, it's useless! Those kicks won't work! This is Golem. I made him. I created him from a _really_ tough mineral, so his body is incredibly strong! _Maybe_ some kind of _magic_ could work on him, but it seems you cannot use magic… I'm looking forward yo seeing how you will survive this!" Then Golem lunged towards the young Fanalis.

Before Golem could land an attack, Hakuryuu directed some of his Magoi into his spear and then attacked the golem — killing, or breaking, it. "I-it broke!?" exclaimed the confused and shocked Morgiana.

"What kind of move was that…?" the ruffian Djinn questioned.

Morgiana asked the navy-haired prince, "Hakuryuu, what was that…!?"

"I manipulated the power within my body, and entrusted a little of it in my spear. In the East, it is a move known as _Ki_ …" he answered.

Zagan spoke, now somewhat understanding, "Ki? The power within one's body…? I see… this is one type of Magoi Manipulation!" A dark look crossed Zagan's face as he thought, _The quantity of Magoi that a human can use is minimal… plus it is risky to wrap your weapon with Magoi._ "Heh… it seems you are not a normal person… _but_ , how long will you be able to keep it up?" he asked, more Golems surrounding the two.

* * *

Golems also had our favorite trio surrounded. Alibaba swung his sword and cut down a golem. "They are tough, but… it seems they can be cut by Amon's Sword," he said.

Tettia sighed out, feeling slightly fatigued due to her use of her Household Vessel, "Guys… I can't keep using my Household Vessel… I have to stop, so I can use it later…"

"It's okay, Tet! We don't want you to hurt yourself trying to help. You're always such a huge help! Let me and Alibaba take care of these guys, okay," spoke the Magi with a gentle smile. "Maybe sit down and eat something?"

Shaking her head vigorously, Tettia refused, "No! I won't have you and Ali protecting me! I can be of help, I just can't use my Vessel anymore." The fire surrounding her daggers disappeared as she did not want to push herself to the limit and possibly hurt herself. "I still have my strength, too, ya know," she exclaimed, picking up a large and heavy limb of the defeated golems.

Alibaba laughed as he said, "That's our Tet!"

"Damn right!" called Tettia as she threw the rather large limb at more golems. Successfully, it shattered the golem. "Cool! New way to fight the enemy! With itself," laughed the redhead as she picked up more pieces.

Suddenly, a thought cross the blond and bluenette's minds. "How will Morg and Hakuryuu fight against something like this…!?" they questioned.

"Morg will probably end up doing what I'm doing," said Tettia.

* * *

Hakuryuu had continued to wrap his Magoi around his weapon, cutting down golem after golem, it was now having an effect on him. He was bleeding from the eyes and mouth, veins bulged from under his skin. His continued use and now fatigue had Zagan laughing hysterically, "Look, you're tired now! Magoi manipulation is a move that eats away at it's user's life… if you continue to use it like that… you will shorten your lifespan!"

Morgiana looked back at the prince, who did not give a flip out what the Djinn had said. "What did you say!?" she asked hysterically. Surely, that could not have been true; if it were true, why would the imperial prince continue using that move if it would end in his life being shortened? Two golems threw punches at Morgiana, to which she promptly dodged with little effort. "Hakuryuu! Let's fall back for the moment. Let's think of a strategy! If things continue like this, your life will…" she began but was cut off.

"I don't care," came the navy-haired prince's crisp, stern voice.

Her crimson eyes widened and she looked horrified. "Eh?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Looking her dead in the eyes, Hakuryuu said, "I prefer that my lifespan is shortened over being helped by other people. I already asked you to _leave me alone_!"

"What are you saying!?" Morgiana questioned as he turned around to face more golems.

As he continued to attack the golems, he explained, "It is necessary to conquer this dungeon… to accomplish my mission… I am the only one who should have responsibility for that mission, so it has _nothing_ to do with you!"

Looking back at him, she said in a worried and annoyed tone, "Nothing to do with me…!?"

"You are annoying… I told you it doesn't have _anything_ to do with you… I'm a prince, and this is my country's problem alone," he said in a low, serious voice.

That was when it hit her: the reason she felt like she had done this before was because Hakuryuu was acting like Alibaba had. Hakuryuu was, at that moment, acting in a very similar way that Alibaba had acted way back in Balbadd. Claiming it was none of her business, that she was annoying. Growing angry, Morgiana stomped her foot, breaking the stone beneath her feet and spoke, walking in front of the prince, "It has to do with me… it is true… that I probably don't have a lot to do with you, but, you probably have them too. People that want to help you, people that hold you dear and are waiting for your return! So, in place of those people… this time, I will help you!"

Laughing at her winded speech, Zagan said between laughter, "Help _him_!? That's _useless_! **You** can't defeat my Golem! No matter how much you struggle… my Golem is tougher than your legs!"

Morgiana ran towards the golem and instead of going to kick it, she reached her hands out to grab it. The young Fanalis picked up the giant, obviously heavy golem — which had both Hakuryuu and Zagan sweat-dropping. "Even if I can't break them with my legs… I wonder what would happen… if they collided with things of similar toughness," she said as she threw the golem into the other golems. Upon collision, the other golem was shattered and pulverized.

Gasping, Zagan leaned back in terror at her strength. _They were pulverized…!_ he thought to himself hysterically.

"Come on, let's continue Hakuryuu," she said seriously.

* * *

Marina and Sarabi arrived back at Atlantis, it had not taken them long to return in their futuristic ship. "Why did we have to come back~~~~~" whined the childish queen.

"I don't know the specifics, Mari, but let us return to the palace," spoke Sarabi, exiting the ship.

Trudging herself off of the ship, Marina looked up to the sky above her kingdom (or empire?). She smiled as she saw the stone effigy of her geeky father, Milo, seemingly looking down at her. "Alright! Let's see what the emergency is, get it taken care of and get back to Sindria before the kids get back," she exclaimed, quickly running to her palace.

The purple-haired advisor rolled her eyes at her best friend and then quickly ran after her. "Come back here and walk! Like a proper returning ruler!"

"NEVER!" yelled Marina as she entered the palace. Immediately, she went to the meeting room, where a group of Atlantean elders were awaiting. "Yes, yes. What is the emergency that was _so important_ that you called me and my advisor back from our stay in Sindria?" she asked seriously.

One of the elders looked at her weirdly. "You never sent word to any of us that you had traveled to Sindria, my queen. Last we heard from you, both you and Lady Sarabi were still in the Kou Empire," the old woman said.

"That is untrue. I had a message delivered to you that we were going to Sindria when we left the Kou Empire. That was why you sent one of our ships to Sindria to pick us up," stated Sarabi as she walked into the room.

"You know she is getting too old, Lady Sarabi," said a younger elder.

Nodding, Sarabi said, "Yes, I do. Now, seriously, what is the emergency? We were enjoying our time with old friends, and meeting new and potentially powerful friends and allies."

"Ah. Well, actually, there is no emergency. We just wanted you both to come back. We have to put our foot down on one issue — the issue that Queen Marina has not yet found herself a husband. It is imperative for her to find one, our empire needs a king to stand by her side — the royal bloodline must be upheld," an elder, a woman named Kallisto, said.

Marina grew angry at the news. "Excuse me, _what_?! Did you just say that you _faked_ an emergency **_just_** for me and Abi-poo to come back her in order for you _hags_ and _geezers_ to tell me I need to find a husband?!" she said, raising her voice in apparent anger.

"Yes, your highness. Like Kallisto said, it is imperative for the royal bloodline to be upheld. Furthermore, since you are now twenty-five years of age, you are considered to be in the prime of your—"

"I WILL LOOK TWENTY-FIVE FOR A _VERY_ LONG TIME! YOU ALL KNOW HOW WE ARE GIVEN ABNORMALLY LONG LIVES THANKS TO THE CRYSTALS!" screamed the angry queen.

Kallisto cleared her throat, "Be that as it may, you still must find yourself a husband, Queen Marina. Your mother found a—"

Taking in a deep breath through her nose, Marina almost hissed, "My mother found herself a husband when she was over eight- _thousand_ years old — almost nine-thousand years old — and still a princess. Let me say that if my father had not come along when he did, that mother would have still not found a husband when my grandfather passed and she became queen!"

An elder, who was a male named Alexandros, bowed his head, saying, "But, my queen, the fact is that your mother still herself a husband to rule along side her and to preserve the bloodline. We have let you rule without a king for a while now, however, our top priority as of now is to keep the bloodline going. Now, we are telling you, Queen Marina, you have one year and six months to find yourself a husband — or we will choose one for you."

 _How dare they!_ Marina thought as she glared at the elders. Fighting the urge to beat the snot out of the elders, she quickly turned on her heels and exited the room — leaving behind a shocked and gaping Sarabi. She slammed the door behind her, what she needed now was some candy. Promptly walking out of the palace, the Atlantean queen walked to her favorite candy shop, that she had commissioned and candies from all countries (due to trade). "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CANDY?!" sobbed out the queen when she saw that her precious candy shop had been blown up.

The owners of the candy shop, a man named Paramonos and his wife Apollonia, came out of their nearby house upon hearing the wailing of the queen. "Queen Marina! Welcome back! We are terribly sorry that we have no candy for you — as you can see… our shop has been blown up," Paramonos said, wringing his hands together apologetically.

Turning to face them, a fire burned in Marina's purple eyes. "Who. did. this," she hissed.

Marina's intense anger had Paramonos stumbling back a few feet, but he answered his queen's question, "Zuko and Mayumi, my queen. They were fighting, like they usually do, and ended up blowing up our shop. Thank the crystal in the sky that nobody was in our shop at the time, else they would surely be dead."

"They're dead!" exclaimed the queen. Before she took off to find the idiots who blew up her precious candy store, she looked at the owners, "I will have your shop rebuilt as soon as I deal with the idiots who destroyed it." Paramonos and Apollonia waved goodbye to their queen as she ran off screaming loudly, "ZUUUUUUUKO! MAAAAAAYUUUMI! YOU TWO ARE DEAD WHEN I FIND YOU!"

Off in the distance, loud "Oh crap"s could be heard from the two. "Mari, don't be too hasty now," said Mayumi, once Marina had found them (which of course had not taken long).

"You. destroyed. my. precious. candy. shop!" growled the enraged queen, cracking her knuckles.

Zuko up his hands up defensively. "Mari… we didn't mean to blow it up… it was Maymi's fault, though, she was the one that used one of those fish-blasters to try and blast me," he said, trying to throw Mayumi under the bus.

"You both are still going to pay for what you've done. I cannot leave you idiots alone in out kingdom without blowing something precious of mine up! First, you blow up my favorite place to get food, then you blow up my favorite bar, now you blow up my most precious shop: the candy shop!? You must _both_ be punished," she growled.

That was when Sarabi showed up. "Marina! Put your fists down! You aren't going to be fighting anyone, let alone are friends," the advisor said.

Glancing over her shoulder, Marina's angered eyes bored into Sarabi's blue ones. "Wanna bet? Sarabi… they _blew up_ yet another one of the kingdom's shops! As queen, I can't keep letting them do that," spoke Marina, now acting like a queen.

Rolling her eyes, Sarabi retorted, "Oh, so _now_ you're going to act like the queen you are?"

"They blew up my precious candy shop~~~!" whined Marina. _Why is it that she can bring me out of my serious mode?_ questioned the queen mentally. Zuko and Mayumi laughed at how easily their queen had returned to her childish ways. "Oh no, you two are still going to be beat up," Marina said, yanking herself away from best friend. Marina proceeded to beat up Zuko and Mayumi for their transgressions of blowing up the candy shop.


	26. Complications

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Complications**

 **A/N: Welp, here ya go! I'm a bit disappointed that this is shorter than the other chapters, but what can you do?**

* * *

"HAKU!" yelled a familiar female's voice. The navy-haired prince's eyes shot open as he sat up instantly. Everyone was crowded around him. Tettia looked at him (from Alibaba's arms, I will have you know) with a gentle smile as she asked, "Are you alright, Haku? You looked like you were having a nightmare."

Aladdin smiled as he said happily, "We finished the two path trial. Morg carried you here." Hakuryuu took that news pretty hard. He could not even remember slipping unconscious nor could he believe that he was helped _again_. Shakily, he stood up.

"Is he really… alright," Tettia whispered to her lover, while still in his arms. Because she had used up a decent amount of her Magoi, Tettia had a hard time standing on her own for that point in time. Alibaba had no qualms about carrying his partner at all, in fact, he was the one who offered to carry her, to which she graciously accepted.

Morgiana and Aladdin packed up the makeshift bed they had made for Hakuryuu and the group continued moving through the dungeon. "We've made it pretty far through the dungeon," Morgiana said.

"Yeah! We have, I'm actually surprised how far we've come in such little time," said Tettia, her head laying on Alibaba's chest and tucked underneath his chin.

From above them, Zagan's voice chirped in, "Hey~! You~!" The Djinn appeared close to them, waving like someone who has been reunited with his friends, "It is me, Zagan~! You're doing pretty good, huh~~~? To think that you could clear the two path trial~ well, you're really strong, and I've started to admire you~! But~~ there is just _one_ among you that isn't in your league~ a _reeeeally_ unreliable guys who's dragging you down… who is he~~? Who is he~~?" Hakuryuu's bangs casted a shadow over his eyes as Zagan taunted. "Hey, don't pretend you can't hear me! It's you, the one with the scar on his face!"

"Excuse you, bitch! I will get put down so I can beat the snot outta you," fussed Tettia, angrily lifting her head off of Alibaba's chest. Her crimson eyes glared harshly at the blue-skinned, bratty Djinn.

Zagan ignored Tettia as he laughed and basically belittled Hakuryuu, "Hey you, they've been helping you since the beginning, right~~~? You really are a bother to everyone~~! I wonder if you are qualified to be their comrade~~! You really can't do anything… you're such a weakling~~~~!"

Alibaba kept a tight grip on his lover as she struggled to get him to put her down. "Hey, don't let him — Tet, quit wriggling dammit — get to you," he said as he struggled to keep him feisty redhead at bay.

Noticing his shaking, Tettia stopped wriggling against Alibaba and asked, "…Haku?"

The two-toned blue-eyed prince had large tears pooling at the corners of his eyes, streaking down his face. "I already know that!" he exclaimed and collapsed to the ground, where he continued to bawl like a baby. Everyone looked on, jaws dropped. "Why~~~~! I'm doing the best I can~~~~~! But I still can't do anything, why~~~!?"

Zagan sweat-dropped as he said, " _Wowwwwww_! H-huh? I made him cry? I made the weakling cry? Haha…"

"Shut up, you stupid masked _pervert_ ," snapped Hakuryuu.

Tettia jumped out of Alibaba's arms and let her lover approach the navy-haired prince. "C-calm down, Hakuryuu!"

With break-neck speed, Hakuryuu whipped his head over to look at Alibaba. Grabbing the blond by his shirt, Hakuryuu angrily spouted, "Shut up! What's wrong with you anyway!? Why is someone as _irresponsible_ as you so _strong_!? You're someone who, along with his — whatever _dagger-wielder_ is to you, abandoned his country and started _fucking around_ in Sindria! Literally _fucking_ around — with Tettia!"

Tettia waved her hands in front of herself, "H-hey, Haku! Ali and I haven't _fu_ —"

Whipping his head to look at her, the imperial prince snapped, cutting her off, "Shut up, dagger-wielding superwoman!"

"Wait, Hakuryuu, that's too much…" Morgiana said sternly.

"Shut up superwoman!" yelled Hakuryuu.

Aladdin waved his hands in front of himself, saying, "Hey, Hakuryuu, calm down…"

"You should shut up too, Midget Assistant!" he snapped at Aladdin.

Gasping almost melodramatically, Tettia pulled Aladdin close to her as she said, "How _dare_ you, Haku! Laddin isn't a midget, he is a child!" Her statement had everyone, but Hakuryuu, snickering; however, after a moment, everyone went back to looking at the bawling prince.

* * *

Sometime later, after Hakuryuu's breakdown, the six of them stood in awkward silence. Alibaba and Tettia looked at one another, the former stepping towards the navy-haired prince. "…Hakuryuu… we should move soon," the blond said to the sulking prince sitting on the ground.

"…Leave me behind. I cannot remain with you any longer…" he said lowly.

Alibaba looked down at the sitting prince, and begun, "Don't feel… embarrassed about before, okay? It's just that… you're staring to feel the burden of your responsibilities, right…? And… for something so important to you… mustn't you get out of here alive? You should borrow our power. You cannot do anything alone…"

"SHUT UP!" yelled Hakuryuu, thrusting his spear towards the blond. "I'm different from you! Even if I'm alone, I have to fulfill my responsibilities! I cannot stop just because I can't do it! And I have to do it all alone!"

On instinct, Tettia disarmed the imperial prince by throwing one of her daggers. Due to some impeccable aiming, the dagger bounced off of a surface behind Hakuryuu, coming back to Tettia, which ended up knocking the spear out of the prince's hands. The half-Fanalis skillfully caught the spear in one hand, while catching and sheathing her dagger with the other. "No one can do _anything_ by themselves!" she exclaimed, pointing Hakuryuu's spear against him — which left the prince with a confused expression on his face.

Alibaba looked at his partner with amazement in his honey orbs as he stepped towards the navy-haired boy in front of him. "Listen to me, Hakuryuu! I was also like that… what I was in Balbadd, I felt like I had to do something… and I could only run in circles by myself," the blond began, "But… I was _wrong._ If I had borrowed everyone's strength, and not just Tet's… I would have saved a lot more people! Including Cassim…"

Tettia immediately lowered Hakuryuu's spear at Cassim's name, switched it over to her left hand and placed her right hand on his left shoulder. "Ali… you don't have to do this…" she said to the blond.

Alibaba clenched his right fist as he mutter to Tettia, "Yes, I do have to do this, Tet." In his normal voice, he continued, "That there was a way to help him and yet… I was sure… I-… I… I killed him!"

Moving her hand from his shoulder, Tettia pried open his clenched left hand just to entangle her fingers with her lover's. "No… I don't believe you did, Ali. Cassim wouldn't want you blaming yourself for what happened," she said in a soothing, comforting voice. She was trying the best she could to comfort her blond lover.

Aladdin and Morgiana gasped, "Alibaba!"

 _What is he… talking about…!?_ thought Hakuryuu as he looked confusingly at the blond and his redhead lover. It was then that Hakuryuu noticed that Alibaba had started to cry, and Tettia was still comforting him — having brought his left hand up to her lips just to press comforting and loving kisses against his skin. _I wonder… what kind of person he is… could it be… that he is not the frivolous and irresponsible person I thought he was?_

Alibaba sniffled and used his right hand to wipe some tears off of his face. His feisty redhead was whispered sweet nonsense into his ears, which had him just barely smiling. "Anyway… what I want to say is… that humans cannot do anything alone…" he said.

"You are right…" the navy-haired prince said.

"EXCUSE ME!?" exclaimed Tettia as she almost fell over.

Hakuryuu nodded to them as he said, "I'm sorry to have snapped and said those rude things… I'm a person that can't live alone, ever since I was you, I've had a weak personality and no power. I lived because my sister, brother, family and retainers helped me. I cannot remain like this… but now… will you lend your strength to someone as powerless as I am? Please let me fight together with you!" Hakuryuu had bowed to them as he said that.

"Sure!" they all exclaimed. Tettia held the bottom end of the spear she had taken out to its owner. "Here ya go, Haku. It's a very nice spear ya got there," she said as the navy-haired prince tool hold of his spear.

"Thank you," he graciously thanked her. Nobody had ever really held is spear, so he had never gotten complimented on it before.

* * *

After taking a break to stuff their faces, the group was back on track. "Ah~ I'm so full~" sighed Aladdin. "Sorry, I always eat a lot."

"Don't worry, Laddin! You used a lot of magic, so you have to replenish your strength," the older half-Fanalis spoke sweetly, ruffling the bluenette's hair.

The young Magi looked at Tettia with concern as he said, "What will we do if the food runs out, Tet?"

Tettia waved off his statement with her retort, "Eh, we'll be fine. Not only did I bring _plenty_ of food, we'll conquer the dungeon before that happens! Right, Ali?"

Nodding, Alibaba added, "This dungeon has been quite _kind_ to us. We know the way to the treasury… and the creatures of the labyrinth are different from the ones we met in Amon's Dungeon…"

"You're right," answered the young blue-haired Magi, "They resemble human… and they don't attack up unless Zagan commands them to…"

Laughing, Tettia said, "Haha… it would be nice if the other dungeons were like this, too!"

Like countless times before, Zagan's voice came from above and all around, "I'm glad you like it! My dungeon is stylish, no? I'm in a good mood, so I'll show you the good things in here!"

Shrugging their heads forward, Tettia and Alibaba said, "The only thing I don't like here is him…"

"Good things…?" questioned Aladdin.

"Take a detour into that tunnel," came the Djinn's voice, referring to the tunnel in which some dungeon monsters were entering. "You can obtain profitable information in there," Zagan said, smirking deviously to himself.

Looking at the entrance, the original dungeon-diving trio questioned, "Profitable… information…?" The three then looked at one another. Tettia was the first one to shrug and say, "What do we have to lose, eh? Might as well." After that, the group walked towards the tunnel's entrance. The sight they saw was appalling to say the least. The _trees_ were made of contorted humans, faces full of agony — what were the creatures doing, one may ask? Why, they were harvesting _honey_ that came out of the agonizing trees.

"What in the hell is this fuckery?!" exclaimed a hysteric Tettia as she looked at the trees. Sadness washed over her — this was the fate of anyone who entered this dungeon and failed to conquer it? Harsh, Zagan, real harsh.

The smile on his face was clearly heard as Zagan said cheerfully, "Those trees are people from the Toran Village." Everyone gasped in horror and disgust. "Just look. They all became young trees! Zagan is the Djinn in charge of the power of Earth… with that magic, I can manipulate plants of the labyrinth, making them parasitic in humans. Then the roots absorb Magoi from the humans… and the labyrinth creatures are born! What do you think? Cute, right? Don't worry, they won't die! They're useful to me. The humans' filthy lives are… nourishment… for my dungeon…" Zagan then started laughing — the cruelty and incompatibility to feel any kind of remorse for his gruesome actions echoing in his laughter.

Morgiana looked horrified as she spoke in a shaky tone, "What a terrible thing to do!"

"I'm sure that girl's parents are here too…" stated a shaky-voiced, terrified Aladdin.

Alibaba stood there, shaking in some kind of emotion, with Tettia by his side stroking his shoulder to calm him down. Moments go by and then, suddenly and with vigor, Alibaba lunged at one of the trees in an attempt to pull the human free. "Alibaba, sweetheart, it's useless. Unfortunately, pulling them out won't help," Tettia sadly spoke. The blond looked over his shoulder at her with pleading eyes, _There has to be a way, Tet_ , his eyes conveyed.

Aladdin came over as he clarified further, "The only way to bring them back to normal is to use magic…"

"Only magic!?" exclaimed Alibaba. He wanted, more than anything, to save these humans from this terrible situation.

Nodding, Aladdin said, "Yamu told me… she said that in magic, there are frightening techniques that transform humans into other things… but that's done with a complicated formula… I don't understand why, but… only the person who cast this magic can return them to their original state!"

Tettia clenched her fists tightly, almost making marks on her palms. "Let's get to that fucking treasury," she said in a low, serious tone. "There, we'll make Zagan reverse his magic, even if that means by force!"

The other, younger, pure-Fanalis furrowed her eyebrows together in concern as she said, "Tet, are you saying that we're going to fight Zagan!?"

"That's exactly what she's saying! We don't have the time to think about dungeon conquest anymore. We have to fight and save the people of the village," Alibaba answered Morgiana before Tettia could.

Turning her head, Tettia looked at Hakuryuu as she asked, "Haku… you're okay with this too, aye?"

Nodding, the navy-haired Hakuryuu responded with a hearty, crisp, "Yes!"

"Good! Wait for us, Zagan… we will… stop this atrocity with our strength!" exclaimed Alibaba.

Zagan was none-too-pleased with that and so he sent large wolf-like creatures to fight them. With Amon's Sword already equipped, Alibaba went straight to hacking and slashing the wolves; Aladdin used his fire magic to defeat three wolves simultaneously; Tettia, daggers drawn, used her speed to slay four wolves in succession. While she was preoccupied with her own wolves, Tettia had not noticed the enemies sneaking up behind her lover — it was only with Hakuryuu slashed one of the creatures that Tettia noticed how surrounded her love had become.

"You saved me, Hakuryuu," said the blond, grateful for the navy-haired male's help.

Stopping forcefully, Tettia focused her attention towards the two princes. "Thanks for that, Haku," she thanked.

Hakuryuu nodded at her and said to Alibaba, "Leave the back to me! I will fight beside you with all the power I possess!"

"That's good to hear. Now, duck!" exclaimed the half-Fanalis, throwing one of her daggers at the blond and navy-head. The two males did, indeed, duck and the dagger plunged into the heart of a wolf-creature that had come up beside them. In the blink of an eye, Tettia was near the two princes and had picked up the thrown dagger from the floor. "Hello, boys," she said with a smirk.

Morgiana looked back at the two princes and her talented half-Fanalis friend. _Alibaba and Hakuryuu… I was worried about how things would turn out between them, but that atmosphere now…_ she thought to herself. Witnessing how the two princes worked together had happiness and relieve coursing through her body. _I'm really glad! I, too…_ she kneed one enemy and kicked another, moving ahead of her friends.

"Morg! Don't get too far ahead," called out Tettia from over her shoulder.

Looking over her shoulder and smiling at the older Fanalis, Morgiana answered, "But I'm… really happy! Because I can fight on par with all of you!"

Tettia smiled as she spoke with happiness, "I'm glad you're happy!"

* * *

Having fought through many creatures, the group had finally made it. They had made it to the treasury. "We're finally here," huffed out Alibaba and Tettia in perfect unison. The treasury was a room filled with large flowers of many different species. "Release the villagers immediately, Zagan! Or we'll put an end to your jokes!" demanded the blond as he pointed his blade at the towering Djinn.

As a response, Zagan tilted his head and stuck out his tongue at the blond's _demand_. "Try it, but I don't think you can…" he taunted.

"Bastard!" yelled Alibaba and he ran towards Zagan. He jumped up and sliced the Djinn's neck, seemingly decapitating him.

With his eyes bulging out, Hakuryuu exclaimed in hysteric confusion, "He died _that_ easily!?"

Zagan's head reattached itself to his body, like his neck was an extendo-neck. Smirking knowingly, the Djinn said, "Die? Me? Ha… I pity you… you don't know… this dungeon's absolute rule…"

The semi-wavy haired redhead's jaw dropped as she exclaimed in immense irritation and slight curiosity, "There are rules to this bullshit?!"

Making plant-copies of himself, Zagan enlightened the group of humans, "The Djinn is the absolute ruler of the dungeon. That's why, no matter how much you struggle… you cannot _ever_ kill a Djinn inside of their dungeon!" The many copies of Zagan started to attack the group. Alibaba ran away, one of the copies' arm grabbed the blond and he cut the hand off. "It's useless! I can restore myself as many times as I want… thanks to the nutrients in the soil of this dungeon! Zagan is the Djinn of the Earth!" he exclaimed as roots sprouted out of the copy's wrist, grabbing onto Alibaba.

"Shit—!" the blond exclaimed before he was picked up and thrown into the wall. The force of impact caused Alibaba to loose his breath.

Tettia gasped, "Ali!" Then she was knocked back, into the wall, loosing her breath as well. Collapsing to the floor, she gasped, trying her hardest to regulate her breathing again. "F-fuck me… _ack, ack!_ …running…" she coughed

"Sir Alibaba! Lady Tettia!" called out Hakuryuu before he, too, was knocked forcefully against the wall.

Morgiana bolted towards the three of her winded friends. "Hakuryuu!" she yelled as she grabbed the navy-haired prince. "Tet!? Can you stand," she asked her half-Fanalis friend.

Tettia nodded, staggered as she stood up, then picked up Alibaba. "Y-yeah… I'll be fine in a few minutes…" she wheezed.

"Morg! Tet! Let's retreat for the moment," called out the young Magi.

"Yes!" the two female Fanalis answered. Throwing Hakuryuu over her shoulder, Morgiana began to retreat, where to, they did not know; Tettia followed after, holding Alibaba in her arms. Aladdin followed after his friends.

Zagan laughed darkly as he said, "Are you running away? Sorry… this is my room, so… you will not get away!"

With a snap of his fingers, the floor beneath the five of them opened up. The five fell into the hole. "Fuck you Zagan!" screamed Tettia. Looking around, Tettia grew anxious, there was no way they were going to be saved.

 _It's deep…! What's that below us!?_ thought Morgiana to herself.

As if hearing her thoughts, Zagan called out from outside the hole, "That's my real body, you know~~! If you fall in my mouth, my gastric juices will make you disappear in a second."

"WHAT!?" the two Fanalis' shouted in unison.

Aladdin took off his turban and said, "Everyone, ride of the turban!" Just as everyone was on the turban, a root slashed through the fabric and everyone continued their plummet.

"Everyone!" yelled Morgiana as she reached out to try and save them. Aladdin, Tettia, Alibaba and Hakuryuu had fallen farther down than she had — they were still falling faster. _I don't want this! They all will vanish… my important friends… and the future we swore to live together! My hands! I can't reach them! My legs too! I can't reach the wall. I… can't jump off… I can't fly! If I was like a bird, it would be alright… if I had wings to fly and reach them… I would…_ thought Morgiana to herself. Just as she thought that, she had not realized that some of her Magoi had been transferred to her arm ornaments and the chains seemingly came to life. Embedding one wrist's chains into the wall, Morgiana used the other set of chains to catch her friends.

Tettia looked up at Morgiana in both surprise and horror. _This could not be — Morgiana could not have a Household Vessel, too, could she? No! It would kill her,_ she thought to herself. "Morg… what are these chains…?" she asked.

* * *

"Huh…? What's that sound…?" questioned Zagan as he heard loud thudding. Looking back towards the hole, he was surprised as Morgiana appeared from the hole, carrying her four other friends. "W-what!? How did they get out of there…!?" he asked hysterically.

Morgiana landed on the ground, letting all of her friends down. "Morg, let's go deal with Zagan's true body," said Tettia, readying her daggers. Nodding, Morgiana agreed to help Tettia — since she was Alibaba's Household Vessel. Running towards the edge of the hole, they jumped down once again.

Zagan laughed, licking his lips as the two Fanalis' jumped down the hole, "Haha! Have you lost your mind!? You _just_ got out of there because of a fluke! To think you would jump into my mouth _all by yourself_ … I'll turn you into a skewer and then eat you!"

As sharpened roots began to surround Tettia and Morgiana, the older female grabbed onto the younger one, "Go, Morgiana! Propel us downwards!" Morgiana smiled and made her chains propel the duo down towards the bottom of the pit, right passed the _skewers_. As Zagan's true form can into view, Tettia exclaimed, "Wrap your chains around that thing, okay?"

Nodding, Morgiana manipulated her chains into wrapping themselves around the creature. Activating her Household Vessel, Tettia launched a huge ball of fire at Zagan's true form — with the combination of chains and fire, the creature could not stand the heat and was defeated. Landing on the ground, Tettia and Morgiana rejoiced — however, that moment was cut short when Tettia noticed the blood oozing out of the younger Fanalis' eyes. "We… did it, Tet…" Morgiana uttered before collapsing to the ground.

Tettia immediately got on her knees and placed Morgiana's head in her lap. "Guys! Come down here," she yelled up at the three males.

"What happened?" came Alibaba's voice.

Beginning to panic, Tettia screamed, "It's Morg! Just get the fuck down here!"

The urgency in her voice caused the three boys to scurry down the pit. "Morgiana! Morgiana!" exclaimed Alibaba as the three boys came to sit around her. "Hey, open your eyes! What happened!? Morgiana!"

Tettia looked at her lover as she held Morgiana's head up. "She… doesn't have any Magoi left," she said in a solemn tone.

"What!?" her blond lover exclaimed.

Speaking up, the navy-haired prince said, "I'm sure she used too much Magoi in order to manipulate her chains… she probably didn't have a lot of Magoi to begin with, and yet she was so reckless… and in this way… if you lose a lot of Magoi in a single instant… you can lose your life!"

"I know that, Haku," mumbled Tettia.

Despite knowing somewhat about that, Alibaba gasped, "What!?"

Nodding, Hakuryuu continued, "That's what I learned when acquiring the skill of Magoi manipulations… her desire to save us must have unlocked an ability for her to manipulate her Magoi. Now that she's this weak, it's impossible for her to recover by herself! We have to bring her to a doctor!"

Morgiana tried to move, but was too weak. "I… I can… still…" she weakly said before she collapsed into Tettia's lap. "To think… that I would finally… be of use to everyone…" she sniffled, tears overflowing from her red eyes.

Tettia grabbed onto her hand, that she reach out weakly, and said with tears, "You did enough, Morg! It was only thanks to you that I defeated Zagan!"

"We'll get out of here immediately and heal you!" added Alibaba, placing a hand on Tettia's shoulder.

"But how should we do that… since we killed the Djinn," asked Hakuryuu.

Aladdin was looking at the creature and deduced something. "This… is no Djinn," he announced to his friends.

Alibaba and Tettia got up, walking towards the young Magi (Morgiana was left in Hakuryuu's lap), saying in disbelief, "What do you mean by that, Aladdin… are you saying that this _isn't_ the Djinn?"

Just before Aladdin could answer, something else answered, "That's right…" The source of the voice walked towards the group. It looked like a tiny version of Zagan, chibi and pouty.

Tettia looked down at it; immediately, she grabbed her sides as she burst out in hysteric laughter. "Y-you're Zagan? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she bellowed out in even more hysteric laughter.

Remember the Toran village girl from earlier, yeah, well she climbed out of the dead creatures mouth, speaking in Toran. Aladdin pointed to her as she ran towards Hakuryuu, exclaiming, "Ah! The little girl from Toran is here!"

As his lover laughed hysterically, having fallen to the ground in laughter, Alibaba drew his sword. The creature threw its hands up in defense as it exclaimed, "Wait! I'm returning the little girl! I'm the last _flower_! I don't have any power left…!"

Deadpanning, Tettia asked, " _Flower_ …?"

The flower nodded and kicked at the ground. "It is as the Magi said. We're not the Djinn. We're just labyrinth creatures that Zagan created in imitation of him… well, we broke free from the real one's control and pulled a little trick, that's all," it said.

"Tricks, you say…!? Are you _kidding_ me!? Return the people of the village to their original forms, and release all of them from this dungeon immediately!" yelled the lovers.

The flower threw its hands up again, exclaiming, "The only one that can do that is the real one! The real one is in the treasury! If you go to the treasury, the real Zagan will reverse the magic on the villagers and release them all!"

Tettia narrowed her crimson eyes, "…Are you _sure_ about that?"

"Yes. …that's how I arranged it with the real one just now," it said, pointing to the vine attached to itself.

Lowering his weapon, Alibaba sighed out in relief. "Thank goodness. Just a bit longer… and we'll get everyone out of here soon," he said, looking at the crying Toran girl.

Sighing in relief itself, the flower said, "Th… thanks. I'll tell you the way to the treasury…" As the flower was telling the group how to get to the treasury, the three _merchants_ from earlier stood above them — listening in. "… Got it? Now you'll be able to reach the treasury," said the flower. Promptly, the flower was killed by the female _merchant_ by using her earth magic.

"Wha!?" exclaimed Hakuryuu and Aladdin.

Tettia growled, sensing the previously undetected threat. "I fucking told you I didn't have a good feeling about them," she said lowly, casting her dangerous gaze upwards.

Following her eyes, Aladdin and Alibaba saw the three. "Who are they!?" the blond questioned.

Just the way the three trespassers looked at him, Aladdin knew something was _very_ wrong here. "Everyone… hurry up and go to the treasury. We can't let _them_ get there before us!" exclaimed the young boy, the symbol on his forehead beginning to glow.

"Haku! Grab Morg and let's go!" exclaimed Tettia. The boy did so and they all bolted towards the treasury's door. They ran quickly and urgently through the necropolis and as they neared the door, Tettia exclaimed, "Laddin! That's it!"

"Good, it's still closed! Open… sesame!" exclaimed Aladdin as he opened the treasury door. A dragon-like mass of rocks attacked the group, Aladdin shielding himself and them from the attack.

"Well, we meet again… _Magi_ ," came a dark voice. Everyone looked up at the three people on a hunk of rock. The one who had spoken was at the tallest point of the hunk of rock.

Tettia immediately recognized who spoke and growled dangerously, " _You_!"

"You're…!" exclaimed Aladdin, probably recognizing the masked man just like Tettia had.

Alibaba was confused, he looked at his sweetheart and asked, "Who are they!?" Once he looked at the three, it hit him. "Aren't they the merchants that we met in the Toran Village Market…!?"

"Yeah, but they are _no_ _merchants_!" spat Tettia, hissing at them.

The tallest, green-haired man spoke, "This is the first time we've spoken directly… _Aladdin._ But I know a lot about you. Since the Balbadd Incident… you, and the king you chose, were the object of our interest…"

The blond's eyes widened in realization. "Impossible," he growled.

"Oh no, it's fucking possible," Tettia answered.

The other, black-haired man started to draw his sword from its sheath, but the light green haired woman raised her hand in opposition. "Isaac, I didn't _command_ you to do anything, did I?" she questioned.

"My deepest apologizes… that insolent fellow addressed her majesty the queen as a _merchant_ again…" answered Isaac.

The _queen_ smiled and replied, "Don't be so angry. It's fine."

"We disguised ourselves as merchants in order to enter the Toran Island… because we wanted to obtain the Djinn Zagan… and because it was a good chance to meet you now that you're away from the Kingdom of Sindria. In order to offer them to our father, we will take Solomon's Wisdom and the life of king Alibaba," the masked man said. The rock dragon then attacked the young Magi once again.

"Haku! Take Morg and the girl to a safe place!" exclaimed Tettia.

Hakuryuu looked at the unconscious Morgiana in his arms and nodded, "Yes!" Then he took off, leading the girl to safety.

"Alibaba, Tet, if they get their hands on Zagan — it will be the end. We won't be able to get out of here. In order to save everyone, we _will_ defeat them… we will defeat Al-Thamen!" exclaimed the brave young Magi.

Tettia and Alibaba looked at their young blue-haired best friend. They nodded, looked at each other and said, "Yeah!" The trio then stood together in the face of their adversaries. Filled with determination and the will-power to live another day.

"I AGREE!" came a familiar female's voice from a distance. Zipping through the necropolis, all the trio saw was a blob of gold. As they were wondering who that could have been, Marina appeared beside them, sword draw and a huge childish grin plastered on her face.

"Marina?!" exclaimed Tettia in complete surprise.

Turning her purple eyes towards the redhead, Marina's grin widened impossibly further as she said, "You know it! Surprise!"

Almost falling over, Tettia was only kept standing due to Alibaba wrapping his arm around her waist. In a hysteric tone, the redhead asked, "Why are you here?!"

"Isn't it obvious? To have fun," came the queen's simple answer. "Now, we don't have time to talk, Tet. Get back on your feet! You can't fight leaning on Baba, now can you?" Nodding, Tettia got her footing back and separated from Alibaba, getting back into her battle-stance. Marina looked at the half-Fanalis and smiled; turning her attention towards the enemies in front of her, Marina's demeanor changed. Her eyes narrowed and the childish air around her was replaced with that of a powerful warrior.


	27. More Complications

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: More Complications**

 **A/N: Yeah, so this chapter is shorter and probably sucks. I'm not good at fight scenes and literally Nights 99 - 104 (which are in this one chapter) are ALL FIGHTING! Do you guys know this, at this point, has been the HARDEST chapter to freaking write because of this fighting bullshit!**

* * *

"So~! Who wants to die first?" Marina asked as she brandished her sword. She was confident in her skills as a warrior. Being a successful Dungeon capturer, she had skills to spare, for lack of a better term.

The green-haired enemy laughed, like Marina was a trivial person who could easily be dealt with. "Such a trivial matter," she said as she summoned more rock-dragons. With her wand raised, she continued, "My rock dragons… how about three of them, Magi?" The dragons lunged at Aladdin so fast, for rocks, that none of the young Magi's allies had time to help. A plume of debris bellowed into the air from the squarish hole in the floor. Giggling curtly, the young lady asked almost rhetorically, "Oh my, could it be that I smashed him and he's dead…?"

Tettia laughed almost hysterically as she taunted, "Impossible! Do you _really_ think Laddin is such a weak opponent that can be killed only with a move that consists of smashing a pile of fucking rocks together? HA HA HA! Bitch, you think you're funny… but you aren't." Her taunting had Marina snickering.

The green haired woman looked at the redhead and questioned, "What?" That was when Aladdin emerged from the debris, completely unscathed and surrounded by his Bolg. "Wh-why is his Bolg so powerful!?"

"He is a Magi. He is special," said the masked man.

The woman smiled as she said, "Well the, in that case, we have to fight seriously, as well." She jumped down from her perch and Tettia, along with Marina, tensed up — that woman still was the enemy and an Al-Thamen member at that, no doubt she would try something underhanded. Lifting up her dress a bit, the woman curtsied at Alibaba, saying, "It's nice to meet you, Magi, King Alibaba, Fanalis, Queen Marina. I am Dunya Mustashim, princess of the Mustashim Kingdom. This," she was now referring to the dark-haired man kneeling beside her, "person is my knight, Isaac. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"A princess… from Mustashim…!?" exclaimed Alibaba and Marina.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! Mari! You're a fucking _queen_?!" yelled Tettia at the new information.

Marina looked at Tettia and said, "I'll explain later."

Dunya smiled, blushing slightly that some people knew of her country. "Oh my, do you two know my country!? The paradise of flowers and springs, my Mustashim Kingdom!" she exclaimed.

"It was a relatively big country in the west… but, I heard that Mustashim was… destroyed by Magnostadt around ten years ago…!?" said Marina and Alibaba.

That statement had Dunya grow quiet. "I have a favor to ask the four of you…" she began.

"A favor…?" asked Alibaba and Tettia.

Dunya nodded and placed a hand over her chest, saying, "Let _us_ obtain Zagan. The two of us came here in order to obtain the Metal Vessel. We received this mission from the _Organization_ …"

The four of them stood strong, the young Magi answering, "Impossible. I will not hand over the Metal Vessel to that _Organization_. That's why we are here."

Sighing, Dunya spoke, "… I see… so, in order to be the only _conquerors_ we have to…" she trailed off and made a rock spike erupt from the ground near the area Hakuryuu and the other girls were at.

They four of them whipped their heads back, to look at where the spike was at. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!" screamed Tettia, worried for the trio.

Dunya continued, clutching her _wand_ close to her body as she said, "… kill all of you with this _Dark Metal Vessel_." The princess noticed she had missed the trio. "Oh my, I missed them."

"You bastard!" exclaimed Tettia and Alibaba though gritted teeth. "A _Dark Metal Vessel_ , you said!?" questioned Alibaba.

The masked man spoke up, "Hm? King Alibaba, your face is telling me that you are not understanding this, correct? The _Dark Metal Vessel_ is a metal vessel that only our _Organization_ is able to create. The _Solomon Metal Vessels_ use the White Rukh as food, but _The Dark Metal Vessels_ use the Black Rukh as food… on that occasion, you witnessed part of that power, right?"

Alibaba's eyes widened as he looked up at the masked man, trying to understand what he meant. "That occasion…!?" he questioned.

"Ithnan, Isaac, just watch our battle without interfering. I want to show my power to the _Organization_. And today I will prove it… that power dwells inside me, too…" said Dunya as she clutched her black wand. Taking the wand in both hands, Dunya impaled herself with the black wand, laughing as her blood poured out of her body. "Fu fu fu… come into me…"

Alibaba looked on in utter horror, Cassim's death playing on a loop in his head. The life drained from his eyes as Dunya transformed into a hideous Dark Djinn. _Just like with Cassim… A Black Djinn!?_ he thought hysterically to himself. Dunya flew up into the air and used her sand manipulation. "What!? Sand is gathering around her hands!?" exclaimed Tettia and Alibaba.

Ithnan smirked and said, "That is the power of the Dark Metal Vessel, Al-Kaus. Dunya is a ruler of magnetism… she can attract and repel minerals like rock and sand at will."

"Well isn't that perfect?" asked Marina. Just as she said that, Dunya attacked, her long nails made of rapidly swirling sand lunging towards Tettia and Alibaba. "Move!" the queen and young Magi exclaimed as the pushed the blond and redhead away. Aladdin used Bolg to block Dunya's attack, whole Marina surrounded her sword in water magic.

"Aladdin! Marina!" exclaimed the duo as they ran towards the two. However, Isaac stood in their way. "Get out of our way!" the two exclaimed, Tettia producing a dagger from the folds of her clothing.

Over with Dunya, Marina and Aladdin were absorbing her attacks. _It's alright, I can endure this! I will concentrate all my Magoi into the Bolg! And then wait for a chance to counterattack_ , the young bluenette Magi thought to himself. Unfortunately, Dunya's attacks were too powerful and began to break through his defense.

Marina saw that and reached for the young Magi, trying to pull him into her protective wall of water magic. However, she only achieved this after Dunya shattered Aladdin's Bolg. "Aladdin!" she exclaimed as she finally pulled him behind her. "Are you okay? Tet will have my head if I let you get hurt," she said with a smile.

Ithnan spoke with amusement in his voice, "To be able to completely crush a Magi's Bolg… that was splendid, Dunya."

Aladdin looked at Marina and said, "I am fine but this person… is strong!"

Marina smiled almost victoriously. "Don't worry, Aladdin, I got this," she said.

"What do you mean by that, Marina?" asked the young Magi.

"Just watch me," came her answer. "Leave this one to me." Marina smiled and activated her Djinn Equip, her sword became ice and she smiled again. "Here I come, Dunya!" exclaimed Marina as she lunged at the Dark Djinn Dunya had become.

Meanwhile, Alibaba and Tettia were fighting with Isaac. Alibaba was losing with that huge sword of Amon's and therefore he shrunk it down, allowing him and Tettia to attack in turns. Alibaba cut Isaac's arm off and the two looked at one another surprised. The two then proceeded to hack and slash the knight; nobody was able to stand up against Alibaba and Tettia's skills when they combined forces.

Dunya was quickly done in by Marina, being thrown to the ground by the queen. "See, told you not to worry about it, Aladdin," said Marina. She was not even winded, that fight had not even been a work out for her.

Ithnan looked down at the defeated Dunya and her knight, Isaac. "You were so easily defeated… you've really disappointed me, Dunya. You will not be able to accomplish your objective if you are so weak. Awaken, Black Vessel…" he said.

Dunya got back up, which surprised everyone. "Oh wow, you're a resilient one, aren't you?" asked Tettia. "The Djinn is shrinking…! Is she returning to her original form!?" the blond and redhead exclaimed.

Marina shook her head. "No, that is the real form of the Black Djinn… the form of the Dark Djinn Equip," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Djinn Equip!?" asked Aladdin, Alibaba and Tettia. Dunya looked like a demon, decked out in black armor that was low-cut around her breasts and she had a tail.

"Yes, it is based on the same principle of your Metal Vessel's Djinn Equip. To wear the power of your Djinn on the surface of your body… but it is a form different from the pointlessly swelled-up appearance of before. It is the complete _Full Body Djinn Equip_ that polishes that form in thinner armor that consumes a small quantity of Magoi," explained Ithnan.

Dunya laughed, "I showed you my ugly side, but this time I will be your opponent in this form." She, then, lunged at high speeds at the four of them. Tettia, Alibaba and Aladdin tried to dodge her spear, but she made it into a trident.

"HER SPEAR BECAME A FUCKING TRIDENT!" yelled Tettia in surprise.

Dunya called back her sand and the trident disappeared. "It's the sand! She's gathering the iron sand and taking it into her spear!" he exclaimed.

"Plus, I can harden it in a second and create a weapon… this is my ever-changing iron blade…" the princess said in a dark tone as she lunged at Aladdin. The young Magi used his Bolg to withstand her attack again. As he jumped away, Dunya manipulated the sand to form a chain that wrapped around Aladdin. She smirked devilishly, thinking she had caught the young Magi.

Tettia jumped to help Aladdin, she cut the chain with her dagger and looked at Dunya with an evil glare. Marina and Alibaba jumped beside the young Magi and his half-Fanalis best friend. "This is four against one. Let's work together, you guys," said Marina.

"Heh. Isaac, don't just lie there. Get up," commanded the princess.

"Yes, your majesty," he said as he picked himself off of the ground. His severed body parts returning to their original state. Alibaba and Tettia freaked out. Readying his sword, Isaac spoke, "Househole Vessel, Al Kaus Kauza." Then in the blink of an eye, Isaac was in front of Alibaba and was thrusting his sword at the blond.

Tettia jumped into action, deflecting Isaac's sword from in the direction of Alibaba. "Nope!" she exclaimed. Jumping back, Isaac collected himself for a few brief seconds as he lunged towards the dagger-wielding duo. Tettia once again deflected his sword, grunting in effort. "How are you moving so fucking fast, you piece of shit?"

Dunya laughed, "Isaac's Al Kaus Kauza repels the strong magnetic forces between the Earth's surface and the armor, resulting in superhuman acceleration. You two are trying to see through the movements of his style by reading his first step… but Isaac doesn't even take a _first_ step. That's why you two can't fight him the same way you would fight a normal swordsman."

Isaac jumped along the walls, Tettia and Alibaba unable to follow his movements. As he lunged towards the duo, Aladdin and Marina jumped in front of them, shielding them from the attack. "Alright. Baba, Al, Tet… stand back. Let me take care of this, for real this time. I will not have you guys get hurt," said Marina, who was looking back at her comrades sternly.

"O-okay?" questioned Tettia.

"Take this, Dunya, Isaac!" exclaimed Ithnan as he gave them a power-up with his lightning magic. "I can also make them a little stronger with my lightning magic as well. And we won't let you drag it into a long fight. We'll finish everything in a single breath!"

Marina laughed, "Oh, that's funny. _You'll_ finish this in a single breath? I think you meant _I_ will finish this in a single breath?" That was when Marina did her Full Body Djinn Equip. Her hair turned a sea-foam green color, her armor looked similar to that of a green, mossy skeleton. Marina also had a tail, that could be used as a tail and could also come apart into legs. She embodied the majesty that comes with mermaids.

"Wow!" gushed the trio.

"Sir Alibaba! Master Aladdin! Lady Tettia! Lady Marina!" exclaimed Hakuryuu as he ran to them. The navy-haired prince came to stand beside Alibaba and Tettia, taking in the appearance of Marina. "Umm… Lady Marina…?" he asked curiously, not ready for her Full Body Djinn Equip.

Marina looked over her shoulder at Hakuryuu, "Oh, hey, Hakuryuu. With this, it becomes a five of three fight."

"Huh?" questioned Ithnan, "Now that I am really seeing you, aren't you a prince from the Kou Empire?" Hakuryuu looked at the masked man like he had lost his mind. Turning his attention to Dunya, Ithnan said, "Dunya… he is one of the people Judar favors. If possible, could you _not_ kill him? I'm a little interested as well…"

Feeling sassy, Dunya answered, "That's impossible, Ithnan. Didn't you say to _finish everything in a single breath_? With my move…"

"That's right… well then, let's put an end to this," said Ithnan, waving his hand dismissively in the air.

Dunya raised up her spear and said, "Extreme magic _Rea Baldo_." Powerful magic was summoned and a eight-star symbol was projected in the air.

Marina cracked her neck, the golden-haired queen was ready to beat the snot out of this green-haired troll. "This is bad… she's using extreme magic. Nobody will be able to defend against it," she said as she lunged towards Dunya. However, Isaac got in her way. "Get out of my way!" yelled Marina as she used her water magic to push the annoying knight out of her way. She smashed him into the ground with her water, before continuing her course to Dunya.

Alibaba, Tettia, Aladdin and Hakuryuu fought with Isaac, who decided to get rid of the kids and leave the queen for his princess. Hakuryuu hindered Isaac's movement by allowing himself to get stabbed in the arm. "HAKU?! THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE FUCKING THINGS!" yelled Tettia.

They defeated Isaac for a brief moment. But, soon the asshole got back up. "Something like that won't work on Isaac. Isaac will not die! Because he is the immortal knight who will forever protect me!" exclaimed Dunya, who had still been charging her magic, even as she fought Marina. Matching her moves blow per blow. Despite Marina's best efforts, Dunya's magic had charged fully. "Extreme Magic, _Rea Baldo_ ," she said. Black sludge, almost, seeped through and turned into sharp blades, then with speed, descended upon the five. "The extreme magi is so wonderful…!" said Dunya as she landed and canceled her Djinn Equip. Looking back at Ithnan, she said, "But the Solomon Metal Vessels are more incredible because the Dark Metal Vessels are just an imitation, right? I want to obtain it as soon as possible, Ithnan!"

"You fool… Dunya, where did you aim your attack!?" asked Ithnan. Alibaba beheaded Ithnan.

Dunya's eyes widened, "Ithnan! W-why? Are you behind me…!?"

"Because Laddin used steam magic, bitch," said Tettia with a smirk.

Marina smiled childishly as she knew her friends were perfectly fine. She moved out of the way of Dunya's magic and appeared beside Dunya as Hakuryuu was intercepted by Isaac. "Hello~" she said in a cheery voice.

"Isaac! Protect me!" screamed Dunya. As Isaac looked back to protect his master from Marina, Tettia's blade broke the _clay_? Everyone was confused, why was the inside of Isaac's head empty? As Isaac fell to the ground, Dunya laughed, "You've done well until now, but it's useless. Come on now, Isaac. Hurry up and defeat them."

Marina used powerful water magic to wash Isaac's iron sand body away. "How about nope~? There we are, no more Isaac to protect you, Dunya."

There was a little left of Isaac's doll. Only a small mound of sand remained. Dunya looked heartbroken, the life in her eyes drained as soon as Marina washed away the rest of his body. "You promised that… you would always be by my side! Isaac…" she trailed off, looking at the small sand mound.

Alibaba looked at Dunya and said, "Who are these people? I thought that fighting against Al-Thamen was in order to save people like Cassim, but… what if… these people were also, like Cassim, used for some reason? What should I do… I don't know anything about them, and yet…"

Tettia placed a hand on Alibaba's shoulder as she said, "And don't you think that we aren't saving people like Cassim by fighting, Ali. There's nothing to fear about not knowing. The more we encounter fuckers like these, the more we will learn."

"I agree with Tet," said Marina as she dismissed her Full Body Djinn Equip, "The more we encounter these people, the more we learn."

Aladdin looked over at his two best friends. "This person… is just like your late friend… she suffers from being unable to move on with her life," he said. Dunya was walking towards them with malice and bloodlust in her lifeless eyes — she wanted revenge. "I understand, Alibaba, Tet. Leave it to me."

"Huh?" questioned the blond. "Alright. Do your thing, Laddin," said Tettia with a smile. Marina and Hakuryuu shared the same questioning look that the blond had on his face. "I'm not explaining, wait and watch Laddin," said Tettia.

Aladdin smiled as he said, "This was given to me in ordered to save the souls of those who have had their fates turned!" The symbol on his forehead glowed, "Solomon's Wisdom!" Black Rukh flowed out of the princess and surrounded her, Aladdin jumped into the Black Rukh that was encompassing Dunya.

"A-Aladdin!?" exclaimed Alibaba and Marina, reaching out towards him.

Aladdin looked back at his friends and said, "Well, I will talk a little with this person's Rukh… I will be back later."

Tettia could do little more than wave. "Be safe, Laddin," she said. After that, Aladdin was gone, digging through the story of Dunya's life through her memories and Rukh.

* * *

Soon the Rukh swarmed around Dunya. "What is happening?" asked Alibaba.

"I want to show this to the four of you as well. The memories of this person's Rukh…" said Aladdin as he shared Dunya's memories with the four. Depressing memories of the overthrowing of Dunya's country was underway. They four saw how brutally Isaac was murdered before the young Dunya's very eyes.

Tettia covered her mouth, that was terrible. No child should _ever_ have to see that, let alone a princess. Isaac was her vassal, that was traumatizing to say the least. She saw as Dunya reached the point of damning and cursing fate, wanting to go against it. When they came back, Tettia knew and so did Marina.

While Hakuryuu and Alibaba gasped out, "Wha… what was that…!?"

" _Falling into depravity_. When one curses their own fate, their Rukh turns black. That's _falling into depravity_ … that's what Ugo taught me," answered Aladdin.

Alibaba looked at Aladdin with wide eyes, " _Falling into depravity_ …"

"But," continued the young Magi, "there is the possibility that my power can clear up that darkness! Solomon's Wisdom!" White Rukh swirled around Aladdin. He left once again and when he came back, Isaac was with him.

"Oh my god! Go Laddin!" exclaimed Tettia.

Dunya looked at Isaac's Rukh and was dumbfounded. "C'mon, go on," said Aladdin. Isaac walked towards Dunya. "The princess is receiving that Warrior's Rukh," clarified Aladdin.

Alibaba and Tettia looked down at their best friend. "Receiving… the Rukh…?" they asked.

Aladdin nodded and explained, "She is mentally receiving everything he saw and thought… while he was alive. But, what will happen depends on the person… no matter what the Rukh communicates, it's not like they can erase the bad things that happened in the past…"

The black rukh still fluttered around Dunya. "What's happening…" asked the lovers.

"I don't know. But, she can't continue like this, because cursing one's fate… brings misery. That's all I can say. Inside of the Rukh's flow… everyone encounters difficulties. Hardships are unavoidable… even in that case, no one would want to live in hatred and suffering. That's why… no matter the hardships they must endure… whenever that happens, think about what to do. Toward the direction of light, toward the direction of dazzling hope, look straight to it and keep walking. That's… the Rukh's guidance, that's the _true_ meaning of fate…" Everyone looked seriously at the young Magi. Until he smiled and pointed at the princess, "Ah, look! Her Rukh is returning to white!"

Dunya heard Issac's voice, _"Please… find happiness…"_ Then she passed out. Alibaba, Tettia and Aladdin ran to her side, "She just fainted," sighed out Tettia. "Thank goodness," said Aladdin, "She's all right!" Tettia and Alibaba smiled at Aladdin as they said, "Thanks to your power." Aladdin smiled back at them, "I just created the occasion."

Marina looked at them, in awe. Aladdin sure was a special kind of Magi, was he not? "Come on, guys. We have to get to the treasure room and get out of here," she said.

"You're right, Mari!" exclaimed Tettia.


	28. Al-Thamen's Nonsense

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Al-Thamen's Bullshit**

* * *

Marina was carrying Dunya's unconscious body while Hakuryuu was carrying Morgiana's body in his arms. The queen looked over at the young purebred Fanalis. "We'll be out of here soon, Morgiana. Please hang in there! Tora'll have my head if you die while I was here!" exclaimed a worried Marina.

The Toran village girl ran beside Hakuryuu and said, "She's getting worse by the minute!"

The group reached the treasury, Hakuryuu gently placed Morgiana's body on the ground; Marina did the same thing with the princess's body. Aladdin, Tettia, and Alibaba frantically searched for Zagan's Djinn Container. "This should be the treasury, but… which one is the Djinn!?" the trio exclaimed.

Aladdin clenched Ugo's former Metal Vessel, the golden flute around his neck, and said, "If Ugo were here, I could search for him with the flute, but…"

That was when it hit Alibaba. He grabbed his sword and thought to himself, _I beg of you, Amon… we need to hurr—_ his thoughts were cut off. Tettia's loud voice called from a bit away, "HEY! GUYS! I FOUND THE CONTAINER!" Tettia had wandered down some stairs, where she had found the container that housed Zagan.

Quickly, Aladdin, Alibaba and Hakuryuu ran down the stairs. "Wow! Good job, Tet," praised Aladdin as he and Alibaba reached out to touch the chest.

Tettia flushed and rubbed the back of her neck embarrassedly at the praise she received. "Aww… th-thanks, Laddin. Where is Mari," she asked and looked around for the golden-haired woman. L

"She opted to stay with the girls," answered Hakuryuu.

"Oh," replied Tettia crisply.

Zagan manifested himself; he was just as towering as Amon had been. His long, off-white hair cascades past his shoulders, peacock-like adornments in his hair. "Who will… become king?" questioned Zagan as he looked down at the Magi and his three friends, "My name is Zagan, the Djinn of Loyalty and Purity!" Everyone looked up at the Djinn.

"Is _this_ the real Zagan?" Tettia, in a low whisper, asked Alibaba.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," answered Alibaba in the same low whisper.

Zagan looked directly at Aladdin, "… Magi…" he began, bowing down to the young Magi (which shocked everyone), "I have to apologize, for many things." Again, everyone looked shocked. "I will immediately reverse the magic cast upon the villagers. That's a reckless action that my labyrinth creature performed, but the Djinn cannot leave the treasury, so I could not stop them… forgive me, please…"

Tettia was utterly taken aback by Zagan. So much so that she exclaimed, "Okay, there's _no way_ ** _this_** is really Zagan!"

Outstrecthing his hand, Zagan surrounded Morgiana with vines. "This is not even enough to make up for what happened… but, I will give a part of the Magoi in my dungeon to that girl to heal her. This will save her life," he said, pumping Magoi into Morgiana.

Life returned to Morgiana's face and the Toran girl and Marina exclaimed, "She seems to be better!" The childish queen got on her knees, placing Morgiana's head in her lap, sighing in utter relief, "Oh, thank God! Morgiana's gonna live! Tora won't try and kill me now!"

Tettia and Alibaba's faces lit up as life returned to their friend. "T-thanks Zagan!" the duo thanked the Djinn with a smile. Zagan looked at the two silently, and with a blank stare. "Hey, Zagan," the two spoke again.

This time, the Djinn reacted; his face scrunched up and contorted into one of comical yet real disgust. He even went so far as to say, "BLECHHH! Could you two please let only the Magi talk to me? Non-Magi make me feel sick. I _really_ hate humans!"

Falling over and being caught by her lover, Tettia said through a gasping breath, "This guy! He's a detestable bastard after all!"

Clearing his throat, Zagan spoke, "In any case… let's choose the king. I will choose him among those that reached this treasury." For the umpteenth time, everyone looked intently at Zagan, waiting for him to choose. "My master is… _**you**_! Ren Hakuryuu!" he exclaimed, pointing at the navy-haired prince. Hakuryuu stared at Zagan with wide eyes, widened in disbelief, and that caused the Djinn to chuckle. "… Oh may. Your face tells me that you don't agree with this, right?"

Hakuryuu lowered his eyes as he questioned, "Why me…?"

Tettia patted him on the back as she said, "Don't question him, Haku! It's a great honor to be chosen by a Djinn!"

Sighing, Zagan spoke, "That's quite simple. That's because you are the most talented one when it comes to using me! First off, apart from the Magi, Household Vessel, and Queen Marina, you have the most Magoi amongst us. And your _Magoi Manipulation Ability_ has a good compability with my powers, which governs onto the Earth and Life. Do you understand now?"

Still not believing the Djinn, Hakuryuu castes his two-toned blue eyes up. His eyes held a certain skeptical look as he said, "… But, I think that there are people here more suitable than me."

Looking over at the prince, Tettia placed a hand on his shoulder, silently telling Hakuryuu that he was wrong. Her eyes held a certain sad gleam as her eyes clashed with Hakuryuu's blue ones. Zagan laughed and said, "Ah… are you talking about your comrade, Alibaba? Or Queen Marina?"

"I'm good! I don't need any more Djinn, Zagan! Thanks for the offer, though!" called Marina.

Nodding his head at her declination of having him as another Djinn, Zagan turned his gaze towards Alibaba. "Hm… Totally out~~!" he exclaimed, sticking his tongue out in a disgusted way once again. "I'd hate to serve under the same master as that stinking old fart called Amon, anyhow. And above all… you," he pointed to the blond, "weren't even able to completely master Amon! Isn't that right? I don't want to become the second choice for a King Vessel that isn't even able to handle a _single_ Djinn."

"Hey! Hey! Ex-fucking-cuse you, ya dick! Ali's working on it! Djinn mastery doesn't come easy to certain people. You, as a Djinn, should understand that perfectly. You have no right to talk down on my lover just because he hasn't mastered a single Djinn yet," huffed Tettia. She had gotten defensive of her lover.

* * *

Alibaba sighed to himself. _While it was really sweet of Tet to stick up for me, Zagan's right… this time around, I didn't accomplish anything besides Djinn Weapon Equip. Even if our masters told us to display our progress in a real fight, I was the only one that… didn't do anything!_ he thought to himself, having a long face. That time's results were: Aladdin in first place because he successfully performed three new magic spells, Tettia in second because she activated her Household Vessel, Morgiana in third because she unlocked a Magoi manipulation ability, and finally, Alibaba in fourth and last place due to half-assed effort. _This is bad… Masted will kill me for sure! He'll be proud of Tet, but will skewer me_ , thought the blond as he violently ruffled his hair.

He was brought out of his thoughts by both Tettia's touch and Aladdin's voice as the young Magi said, "I wonder why you couldn't do that?"

Rubbing the back his neck, Alibaba answered, "I don't know… I will try to ask them once we get back. After I get a good scolding."

"Don't worry, Ali, Master won't scold you _too_ much," said Tettia with a comfortingly smile. She then point to the Toran girl, "Anyway, look at that!" The girl ran to her parents and was crying from happiness as they embraced her; her parents also crying happily as they embraced their daughter. The trio sighed happily, the two long-time best friends speaking, "They're all safe… I'm so happy." Alibaba spoke as well, "Yeah!"

Marina walked over, carrying Dunya. "We should bring the princess back with us. We can't just leave her here," she said.

Smiling, Tettia replied, "Aye! Let's go back together!"

Alibaba smiled and punched the air, exclaiming, "Let's go back with the treasure and not leave anything behind!" Tettia rolled her eyes and punched the blond in the shoulder. "OW! Tet?! What was that for?!"

"Not _everything_ is about the fucking treasure, Ali!" exclaimed the half-Fanalis. Aladdin laughed at his best friends, Marina was also laughing at the two lovers. The lovers then proceeded to bicker back and forth about the treasure.

Unknown to all of them, the villagers included, a snake slithered towards Hakuryuu. It struck at him, biting his hand. "Ouch!" exclaimed the surprised imperial prince, "What the hell is this thing?!" Hakuryuu grabbed the serpent and removed it from his hand.

"Are you alright, Hakuryuu!?" exclaimed Tettia as she whipped her head to look at him.

Hakuryuu looked back at her, answering, "Yeah, it doesn't hurt _that_ much…"

Soon, Tettia was standing beside him, taking the hand that was bitten into her hands. Her scrutinizing crimson orbs looked at Hakuryuu's hand. "Are you _sure_ you weren't poisoned, Haku?" she asked looking into his two-toned blue eyes.

Hakuryuu noticed the look in her eyes; she was genuinely worried about him and cared for him, despite not knowing him long. "Yes, Lady Tettia. I'm sure. Thank you for your concern," he answered her.

"No problem, Haku. We're friends after all!" she spoke cheerfully.

Marina had started gathering people into the exit gate symbol. "Are you all in?" she asked. Everyone gave an affirmative grunt. "Okay, Hakuryuu, we're all ready. Baba's got all the treasure on board, too."

Hakuryuu nodded at the queen and exclaimed, clenching his spear, "Come on… let's go back!"

* * *

"Looks like it's just the two of us, huh, Ali?" asked Tettia, leaning on her romantic partner, looking up at him.

Alibaba smiled at her, leaning his head on hers, answering, "It seems that way, huh?"

She laughed, "Just like the first time!" Just as she said that, they arrived outside, in the hole of where the dungeon used to be. The lovers noticed something was going on outside the pit. "Welp, c'mon Ali, we have to see what's going on up there," said Tettia as she picked him up and jumped out of the pit. The scene they were greeted with was complete and utter carnage: villagers were being flung around by a tornado and Aladdin fighting someone mid-air. Having been flung to the ground, Aladdin's Bolg broke. "LADDIN!" yelled Tettia as she ran to his side. That was when she noticed the others, how beaten they looked. "Morg!? Haku?! What the fuck happened?"

As Tettia ran to his side, Aladdin spoke weakly, "Tet, Alibaba… Al-Thamen, they ambushed us outside the dungeon!"

"Where's Mari?" asked Tettia, trying to make sure everyone had made it out alive.

Alibaba was looking around for Marina and said, "She must not be out yet."

Aladdin staggered, holding onto Tettia's shoulder as he stood up. "Marina's help would be appreciated. They all have the _Dark Metal Vessel_ … I… was able to block their attacks, but… I used too much stamina with _Solomon's Wisdom_ … to be honest, I'm barely able to stand right now!"

Tettia pulled the young beaten Magi into her chest, hugging him comfortingly. "It's okay, Laddin…" she looked at Alibaba and continued, "Ali and I will take care of these assholes!"

Before they could do anything, however, the members of Al-Thamen activated their extreme magic, Al Yatsudo. The magic smacked everyone around; Tettia and Alibaba were thrown around and soon both lost consciousness. "Broken already," said one of the men, the bulkiest – Zurmudd. He moved Alibaba's body with his foot, continuing, "A little too fragile… right?" The man who spoke was not very attractive, and seemed like a rude man. "For Dunya to lose against _weaklings_ like this, she's really incompetent. She should have brought me along after all… right?"

"Ithnan is partial to Dunya, so we couldn't do anything about that," said the handsomest one, Byoln.

Zurmudd griped, "That's not fair… that's sexual discrimination… right, Apollonius?"

Apollonius, a midget in a wheelchair, spoke and stroked his chin, "That's right… by the way, did you see Ithnan anywhere?" He got no response from his two comrades and sighed, casting his gross and lifeless beady black eyes at Aladdin and Alibaba. "… Oh well. Let's eliminate these two… just as we planned…" Morgiana, then, regained consciousness and weakly tried to stand up; this action surprised the men and they all asked, "Eh?"

A loud growl could be heard as Marina exclaimed, " _What did you do to Tet_?!" She had finally come out of the now nonexistent dungeon, and grew more infuriated at the sight of the bulky, ugly man holding Morgiana by her hair. "You put Morgiana down and fight me!" she yelled, slightly bluffing. Marina had drained a lot of Magoi during her brief time with both Djinn Equipments being activated for an extended period of time.

Zurmudd smiled evilly as he went in for the kill on Morgiana, yelling, "You can watch this bitch DIE!"

"NO!" screamed Marina, unable to move fast enough to save the purebred Fanalis. She squeezed her purple eyes tightly shut, not wanting to see the dead Fanalis Tora had claimed as her daughter.

Morgiana was not dead, she was saved and was placed on the ground by her savior. A neck crack rang out after the young Fanalis was put down. "Who are you?" asked Zurmudd.

"Who the fuck _I am_ doesn't really matter, now does it? What _does_ matter, however, is how good your fucking head will look on a _fucking spike_!" growled an infuriated Tora.

Marina almost jumped for joy as she yelled happily, "TORA! You're here!?"

With narrowed pinkish-red eyes, Tora was almost glaring at the Atlantean queen. "Weren't _you_ supposed to fucking be in Atlantis, Mari?!" The queen just shrugged, mumbling something under her breath. "Excuse you, bitch! You will not fucking MUTTER UNDER YOUR BREATH TO ME, UNDERSTAND?!" Marina looked at the enraged purplenette and nodded.

Morgiana came to a bit more and looked at Tora, exclaiming in surprise, albeit weakly, "To…ra…?!"

Still having Alibaba and Aladdin in his evil grasps, Zurmudd sneered, "An ally? …Oh well, no matter how many people get in our way… the Magi and King Alibaba _will_ DIE!"

Tettia had regained consciousness and quickly stood up, having noticed her best friend and lover were being threatened with death. However, before she could do anything to save the two, her and Alibaba's master arrived and cut the shadow arms of Zurmudd, causing the two to fall. "Master?!" she asked in surprise.

"Hey, Tettia. Anyhow, you can't kill them because that would be trouble for us… because these guys are… our beloved disciples!" exclaimed Sharrkan.

Yamraiha caught Aladdin and Tettia was by Alibaba's side; the blond regaining consciousness as well. As his honey brown orbs glanced up, not at Tettia, but at their dark-skinned master, he exclaimed in shock, "Ma-Master!"

Tora held a serious look as she said, cracking her knuckles, "We will make you fucking _regret_ what you did to them, until you _fucking beg_ for the _sweet embrace of DEATH_!"

Tettia laughed, "I would help you guys out, but I'm sure that my Magoi isn't the best right now."

Ruffling Tettia's hair, Marina said, "It's okay, my child. I don't have much Magoi left, either. I can't help much in this fight either. As much as I want to."

The half-Fanalis muttered a silent, _I'm sorry_. Tora heard that and said, glaring at the enemies in front of them, "Don't fucking worry about it, Tet! We got this!"

"Who are they?" Zurmudd asked.

The midget confined to a wheelchair, Apollonius, answered, "They are part of Sindria's Eight Generals. The Household Vessel users and the Magician that serve under King Sinbad…"

Growling darkly, Tora corrected the midget, " _Magician_ _ **S**_! I'm a fucking magician, too, you midget asshole!"

Byoln, the _handsome_ one with the eyepatch, seemingly scoffed, "They are the… Eight Generals…?! But there are four there, doesn't that mean King Sinbad has _Nine_ Generals?"

"No, I heard that one of the Generals has a wife that fights with her husband. They're considered to be one entity," said Apollonius.

Tora grinned smugly as she yelled at the old fart, "Yeah! That's Massy and me, ya cunts!"

Alibaba looked up at Sharrkan from Tettia's lap, weakly reaching out to him, saying, "M-master… I'm sorry…"

Taking the blond's hand into his own, Sharrkan said to both his disciples, "But you _were_ able to conquer the dungeon, right? You and Tettia did a good job."

Yamraiha took Aladdin's hands in her own, saying, "Leave the rest to us."

"Yeah! We will kick their fucking asses! They'll pay for trying to kill my fucking daughter!" Tora yelled, cracking her neck and knuckles once again for good measure.

Zurmudd scoffed at the enraged purplenette's comment, " _Kick our asses_? Don't make me laugh."

Sharrkan looked over the enraged married couple and said to them, "Hey Masrur, Tora, let's do this together. Okay?"

"Yes, Sharrkan…" said Masrur. His wife, however, scoffed, "Only this _ONCE_ will I _EVER_ listen to you, Shark-boy."

Apparently finding that quite amusing, Zurmudd snickered, "Oh my gosh, usually I only beat up girls… right? Oh well. If you intend to get in our way, then you'll end up getting pulverized… _just. like. her_ …"

The enraged couple lunged towards the ugly Zurmudd. Masrur devliering a swift and powerful kicking to his face, while Tora delivered a hard and furious punch to the man's sternum. The force of both blows sent the bulky man flying into the forest, breaking trees in his way. The married couple then ran into the path of destruction they had caused, both incredibly pissed off at Zurmudd's statement. Yamraiha sighed, "It is useless… Masrur and Tora are quite angry."

"They won't listen to us, no matter what we say," commented Sharrkan. Pointing his sword at the two remaining men, he continued, "Well then… in that case, we will be your opponents." The two remaining enemies glared at Sharrkan and Yamraiha.

* * *

"GEEEEEZ! What the hell was that!" exclaimed Zurmudd, using his shadow arms to grab the ground and stop him. "Kuh, what absurd strength! But… I will not lose… when it comes to strength!" He glared at the husband-wife duo who stood before him, creating a huge shadow arm. "I WILL CRUSH YOU!"

Tora appeared beside Zurmudd, saying, "No… no ya fucking won't. Also, do me a favor and SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Her fist connected with Zurmudd's hideous face and he went flying a few feet. Tora had done that to get rid of the shadow arm lunging towards her husband, but her ploy had not made it disappear; it was a good thing that Masrur stopped the arm.

 _These two… why are they so ridiculously strong?_ Zurmudd thought to himself as he looked at the duo in shock. He, then, noticed their intense anger and rage. "You… you've both been angry for a while now. I don't know you two… right?" Casting his horrid gaze upon the infuriated Masrur, Zurmudd noticed the man's similiarity to Morgiana. That was when it _clicked_ in his idiotic brain. Shifting his gaze to Tora, he saw the motherly anger that was present in her fiery pinkish-red eyes. "…Aah! It is about that girl, right? You, boy, your face looks somewhat similar. You two are brother and sister… right? Oh well… okay. I will show it to the three of you then," he spoke, looking darkly at them, "the power of the _Black King_."

As darkness surrounded Zurmudd, Tora rolled her eyes. "Killing this guy will be so sweet," she growled.

"Full Body Djinn Equipment! Alf Al Yatsudo!" bellowed Zurmudd. Two giant shadow arms were conjured up and started to attack the couple. Tora and Masrur skillfully and effortlessly dodged the attacks. Zurmudd laughed and began to rave like a madman, "Hahaha, you two did well dodging that! Anything that is caught between those two hands is annihilated in an instant! Normal people can't dodge that with just their explosive power, did you both know that?! You're both _incredible_! But, I wonder how long you'll both be able to dodge them… right?"

Tora growled as she dodged, "Fuck you!" Both her and Masrur continued to dodge Zurmudd's attacks, albeit getting slower and closer to being hit.

Still raving like a madman, Zurmudd yelled, "Come on! Come on! Come on! With each passing second, you both are having more and more trouble dodging! You're in a pinch! If you don't hurry it up, you'll both be crushed!" Soon, Masrur and Tora were surrounded by shadow hands making the madman laugh hysterically, "Ah, what are you two going to do now!?" Tora and Masrur shared a look, the purplenette getting close to her husband, and then the attack _landed_. "Mere humans are enable of dodging and attack like _that_. Maybe I was being a little unfair! How absurd… I was able to turn the husband-wife powerhouse of the Eight Generals… into minced meat with my own hands." Shrugging as he said that, Zurmudd heard almost demonic low laughter coming from behind him. His eyes widened.

"Are you talking about _this_ hand?" asked Masrur, pointing to his wife. Tora was smiling evilly as she tossed Zurmudd's severed right hand into the air and playing catch with it. "I think he _was_ talking about this fucking hand, Massy. Sad thing is: motherfucker didn't even use his gotdamn hands," the purplenette spoke darkly, gazing into Zurmudd's eyes.

"Eh?" asked Zurmudd as he looked at the stump where his right hand used to be attached to his wrist. "KYAAAAA!?" he screamed out hysterically, and he whipped his head to look back at the duo, "You _bastards_!" Zurmudd cursed and swung his left fist back towards them, but they were gone in an instant. The enemy gasped, that was surely impossible. "You two… why are you still _alive_ … you weren't supposed to dodge and attack from those angles!"

Tora sneered evilly as Masrur's armor crackled with lightning, she herself was hanging onto his back (so he could save her). "Household Vessel," said the Fanalis male. Tapping on his shoulder, Tora spoke, "I got this, Massy! You've used your Household Vessel enough today. Any more and you could get hurt." She kissed Masrur's cheek and got off of his back. Suddenly, she appeared in front of Zurmudd and with an evil grin on her face, said darkly, "This is for hurting my daughter, Morgiana!" After saying that, Tora plunged her right hand into his chest, ripping through his chest and exiting out of his back. Pulling her hand out of his chest, Zurmudd fell to the ground, dead.

Flinging the blood off her hand, wiping the excess on the corpse's cloth, Tora said, "And that's what happens when you piss Momma Tora the fuck off." Turning to her husband, she spoke caringly, "Now rest, Massy." Heeding his wife's caring words, Masrur sat down on the ground.

* * *

Apollonius hummed to himself, "Hum… it seems Zurmudd was defeated."

Byoln looked disgusted. "Impossible… by a Household Vessel used and a woman?" he asked, "But wasn't that man one of the legendary _Fanalis_? Maybe he was defeated…"

Tettia and Marina laughed at that, "Yeah right. If Masrur had died, Tor would've lost her mind and mirdered the both of you by now."

Dismissing the two women's comment, Apollonius laughed. "Don't worry about it, Byoln. If you and I — Apollonius — fight together, there will be no problems at all," said the midget.

"Hey, hey! We're your opponents. Hurry up and fight!" exclaimed Sharrkan, pointing his sword at them. Byoln scoffed and stepped forward, drawing his sword. "Oh?" questioned Sharrkan with narrowing green eyes.

Tettia punched the air, calling out, "Kick his ass, Master Sharrkan! I know you got this!"

Sharrkan smiled at Tettia before lunging toward Byoln. As soon as they clashed, the dark-skinned man yelled at the blue-haired magician, "Yamraiha! I'll leave the other one to you. I'll fight this guy!" He was pushed back by Byoln and then the swordsmen jumped into fighting. They jumped away from the group.

"That Byoln! I told him we should fight _together_! Youngsters these days are too hot-blooded!" gripes the old midget evil magician.

Alibaba weakly got up off Tettia's lap; she asked him where he thought he was going and he answered her with, "I have to go, too… I have to engrave Master's fight into my mind!"

"You're an idiot, Ali," said Tettia, standing up with him. "Mari, look after Laddin. Ali and I are gonna go watch Master's fight with Eyepatch."

Marina smiled. "Okay. Baba… don't you cause my daughter too much trouble, yeah?" she said, looking at the blond with serious and narrowed purple eyes.

" _Daughter_? When did I become your daughter, Mari?" asked a confused Tettia.

"Since just now. Anyway, go watch Sharrkan's fight," said Marina with a grin. Tettia laughed, rolled her eyes and darted off to watch Sharrkan's fight — taking Alibaba with her, of course.

* * *

When the lovers found their master, him and his opponent were clashing swords quickly. Sharrkan deflected Byoln's rapid thrusts, squeezing in some of his own slashes. Both swordsmen were not getting anywhere, really. Tettia and Alibaba gasped, marveling at the swordsmen's techniques. "Wow… they both have incredible sword styles! But… Master is superior!"

Sharrkan lunged at Byoln, causing him to jump back. Byoln sneered, "As I expected… now, how about this!?" A shadow version of Byoln appeared behind Sharrkan and attacked him, causing the handsome dark-skinned swordsman to exclaim in shock. "Another one!" shouted Byoln, conjuring up another shadow.

Soon Sharrkan was surrounded by both shadows and the real Byoln. They all attacked him at once, to which he skillfully deflected. "Damn it, what the hell are these guys!?" exclaimed Sharrkan.

"Just to be sure…" said Byoln, conjuring up yet another shadow. A shadow poised to strike Sharrkan from behind, in his blindspot. Tettia was not just going to stand there and let her master be attacked from his blindspot, especially when she could fight. Drawing one of her daggers, Tettia jumped in front of Byoln's shadow, successfully preventing it from slashing Sharrkan from behind. The clanking of metal against metal was not what Byoln had wanted to hear; when he saw his plan had been foiled by the redhead, he grew infuriated. "WHAT!?"

Sharrkan looked over his shoulder, which was nicked by the shadow's blade, and had wide eyes. Tettia was truly fast, and it possibly saved his life. "Te-Tettia?" he questioned.

"Nice to know that even _you_ need back-up every once in a while, Master," snickered the half-Fanalis, teasingly blowing her mast a kiss.

Byoln glared at the crimson haired intruder. "Looks like we have an uninvited guest crashing our fight," he sneered.

"Only because you're a dick who tried to pull an underhanded attack on my Master!" Tettia sneered right back.

Placing a hand on Tettia's shoulder, Sharrkan said with a grin, "Hah. Look, Tettia; you too, Alibaba! I don't have any other choice… I have to use my King's power as well, huh…"

"A Household Vessel? Use it!" exclaimed Byoln, "But after that, my sword will chop you up into small pieces! Fu fu fu fu!"

Sharrkan and Tettia looked and pointed at Byoln, a blank look on their faces. "You make me sick… don't be proud to show off _just_ because you have a Metal Vessel," the master and disciple said. "Household Vessel, _Foraz Saika_!" exclaimed Sharrkan as he activated his Household Vessel, a trail following after the blade as the dark-skinned man moved it around.

Byoln laughed and, with his shadows, lunged at Sharrkan, yelling, "DIE!"

The Household Vessel user slashed at Byoln, leaving his disciples marveling at the tail. "Okay… let's go!" he exclaimed and slashed at the shadows and Byoln, his slashes remaining.

"I see… your slashes _remain,_ right? But… what's so special about that!?" asked Byoln. "Come on! Come on, come on, come on! Ufufufu! My familiars, use all my power to consign him to oblivion… Extreme Magic, _Zetulz Etul Zaraam_!" Sharrkan was surrounded by shadows. "DIE!" yelled Byoln.

Sharrkan surrounded the shadows, plus the real Byoln, with one of his slashes and with one blow, ended the fight. His move had his two disciples marveling at him. "Sorry, but… my slashes don't just _remain_."

 _Foraz Saika_ , once a slash is released, it remains for a few seconds. This makes the sword into a momentary extensible whip that can be controlled at will. However, since Sharrkan has such a small amout of Magoi, he can only use his Household Vessel for a few minutes a day. Tettia squealed happily and attacked her master with a hug, almost knocking them down. "I knew you could do it, Master!" she exclaimed.

"Are you alright, Master?" the blond asked from a few feet away.

Sharrkan looked at Alibaba, saying, "Yeah. Had it not been for Tettia, my back would've been severely hurt, so thanks for sparing me that. However, I have to rest now. I ran out of Magoi, too…"

"You're welcome for the help, Master. I couldn't let you get blindsided when I could fight and help ya out," answered Tettia.

* * *

(I cannot write Magic battles so, sorry bout it)

Yamraiha defeated Apollonius, by reflecting his own dark magic at him, after sustaining some damage. Her clams that covered her breasts had been destroyed and she was now holding her breasts as a means of covering them. The battle was won. That day, good had triumphed once again over the evil that was Al-Thamen. Finally, they could return home, to Sindria.


	29. The Return

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Return to Sindria**

 **A/N: I apologize on the lack of exposition with Aladdin and the other Magi, I got lazy with it.**

* * *

Everyone had regrouped after their respected fights. Immediately upon seeing the young Magi conscious again, Tettia attacked said Magi with a huge, loving hug. "Laddin! You're okay!" called the half-Fanalis, nuzzling her cheek against the bluenette's hair.

Aladdin laughed at the affection he was receiving. "Of course I'm okay, Tet," he said, then turned his attention his master, "Are _you_ alright, Yamu?"

Yamraiha smiled at her young disciple as she answered him, "Yes."

Leaning on and ruffling Alibaba's hair, Sharrkan asked, "Alibaba… how could you and Tettia lose against such opponents?" He grabbed Tettia, pulling her close to him and the blond. "Hmm?! Answer me~~!"

The dark-skinned swordsman' disciples looked at him apologetically, covering their faces, "We're sorry!"

"What about the things I taught you!?" whined Sharrkan.

Masrur held Morgiana in his arms, Tora sitting close by and stroking the young unconscious Fanalis's hair comfortingly. The purplenette laughed and said dryly, "Didn't Tet have to jump in and fucking save your ass, Shark-boy? Like your back, specifically, perhaps?"

Kicking the back of the purplenette's head, Sharrkan exclaimed, "What did you say? _Bitch_!"

Pinkish-red eyes quickly snapped to shot a deadly glare at the handsome green-eyed swordsman; Marina saw this and immediately pulled Sharrkan away from the now pissed Tora. The dark-skinned swordsman was highly confused at the queen's sudden action, when he looked back at the purple-eyed woman, he saw it. The utter worry and fear in her eyes, but that had him even more confused. "Sharrkan!? Do you realize what you _just did_?!" she finally asked him.

It took a moment for him to comprehend what he had done, and when he _fully_ understood his transgression, the color drained from his face. "Oh… _shit_. Tora, I'm sorry! _Please_ don't kill me," he begged the purplenette, bowing his head apologetically towards her.

"C'mere Shark-boy," she said, signaling for him to come to her. Hesitantly, Sharrkan stepped towards the purplenette — audibly gulping. "Bend in closer," she instructed further, to which Sharrkan followed. As the dark-skinned, white-haired man bent in close to Tora, she instantly snatched him by the front of his clothes. "You _**EVER**_ fucking do that to me again, and you're a fucking deadman, _understand_ me?"

Tettia, Alibaba and Marina watched with bated breath; watching and waiting for the pissed purplenette to send him flying like she had done at the Festival. Not one to disappoint, Tora smiled darkly as she punched Sharrkan in the face, sending him flying into a tree. " _Ooouuuccchhh_ ," the three watching groaned in sympathetic pain.

"Tor, don't you think that was _a bit_ much," Marina asked her friend.

Cracking her knuckles, Tora spoke matter-of-factly, "Nah, I didn't punch him _too_ hard. Just enough to get my fucking point across."

Off to side, Aladdin was seemingly spacing out; Tettia noticed that and touched the bluenette's shoulder, asking in a worried tone, "What's wrong, Laddin?"

Aladdin casted his big, blue eyes over his shoulder, looking at his best friend. "Hm… I felt _something…_ just now…?" came his answer.

"Like what?"

"I can't really explain it, Tet."

Tettia gasped out a quiet, "Oh…"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the skies over Sindria's main island the dark Magi was readying an attack. A magic attack designed to destroy the kingdom's magical barrier. Judar smiled darkly to himself, oh how he had been waiting for this moment!

* * *

Inside the palace, Ja'far was reporting to Sinbad in his study. A worried Sarabi was pacing around in the king's study as well. "Your majesty, we have received contact from Yamraiha," said the older killjoy. Sarabi's baby-blue eyes snapped towards the white-haired advisor, silently asking if he had heard word about her queen. "Aladdin and the others are under their protection, and Queen Marina was found with them. Apparently, she had gone into the dungeon as well," Ja'far finished his report, smiling at Sarabi.

Both Sinbad and Sarabi audibly sighed in relief. "I see. So Al-Thamen _actually_ attacked them," said the king.

Sarabi slumped over on Sinbad's desk, saying, "I'm _glad_ Mari's okay. I was freaking out when she disappeared from the ship on the way back!"

"It was a good thing that you sent Masrur and the others to get them, just in case," said Ja'far.

Sinbad smiled at both of the news, "Yeah." Just then, the whole kingdom seemingly shook. "What was that!?" yelled Sinbad. They all looked outside and above them, the barrier had a hole burning into it. "Impossible! Yamraiha and Tora's barrier was destroyed!?" a shocked Sinbad exclaimed.

"Ah, Sin, look!" exclaimed Ja'far, pointing to the hole in the barrier. From the hole, Judar infiltrated the kingdom. "Judar!" everyone shouted in confusion and shock.

The dark Magi landed in the courtyard and the military sprung into battle-stances. "What's wrong? You all have such scary faces…" he said with a grin.

Ja'far growled and readied his weapons. "Damn you… Household Vessel, _Balalark Sei_!"

Not having any of that, Judar used magic to attack Ja'far. "Step aside, small fry. I have some business with Sinbad…" spoke Judar.

"What did you say…?!" exclaimed a now deadly Ja'far.

"Stand down, Ja'far!" demanded Sinbad. Reluctantly, Ja'far stood down. Casting his golden gaze at the dark Magi, Sinbad continued, "Why are you here, Judar?"

Judar smiled and waved at the purple-haired king. "Hey, those old men from our organization went to fight that Midget, do you know?"

Looking at the black-haired Magi, the purple-haired king spoke, "That matter's already been dealt with. They were protected by the Eight Generals."

Snickering, the dark Magi said, "Heh. I guessed as much. As if those fake _Metal Vessel_ users could do anything against them. Hey, Sinbad. What do you think about _that guy_?"

" _That guy_?" asked the king.

Judar's red eyed pierced Sinbad and sneered. "I'm talking about _Aladdin_. Don't you think it's strange? That there exists another Magi in this world!?" he exclaimed. Sinbad looked at him darkly as Judar continued, "In all the previous eras… there were only three Magi… you know about this, right? History proves that there were _three_ Magi who created kings, created countries and built this entire world! It used to be like that in this era also, right? For the first, there is me. And then that old hag in Reim. And the last one is that guy who travels around the world, making dungeons appear and disappear as he pleases. That _should_ be all of them. If a new Magi appears, someone among these three people have died… _but_ , I didn't get such information. So then… what the hell is _that guy_ …? For the first time in history the _Fourth Magi_ has appeared… Aladdin!" Everyone looked at Judar with cold eyes. But he continued, "Plus, that time… he displayed a mysterious power that even I don't know anything about… From that moment onward, those old men from my organization desired that power. Could it be that you're interested in that, too?"

"… What are you trying to say?" asked Sinbad.

Judar snickered, "Quit acting innocent! What do you intend to do? What do you intend to achieve by using that Midget? How would Red act when she finds out you're just using her precious Midget best friend? She'd be devastated that her _favorite_ king is using Aladdin, wouldn't she?"

"It's none of your business," came Sinbad's cold response.

* * *

The group of dungeon capturers, and their masters, had returned. At the dock, the boat of treasures was unloaded and as everyone looked at the treasures, the heavily beaten up dungeon capturing group of five were helped off of the ship. "It's the Dungeon Conquerors! Blessings to our heroes!" the Sindrian people exclaimed.

Aladdin and Tettia were the only two not really being helped off the ship. In fact, Tettia was helping her romantic partner off of the ship. Marina strolled off of the ship, smiling a bright smile. When Sarabi's blue eyes caught a glimpse of her queen and screamed, "MARINA! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE, NOW!" Marina heard the long-haired purplenette's scream and decided to run off. Away from Sarabi. Without warning. Which left her now adoptive half-Fanalis daughter raising her eyebrows in confusion.

"You did well, Alibaba," the purple-haired king praised. As the people decorated the dungeon capturers with beautiful and colorful leis, Sinbad walked over to them, wearing a smile.

Tettia and Alibaba smiled at the approaching king, greeting him with an excited, "Sinbad!"

"You accomplished the dungeon conquest and returned safely," exclaimed the king, opening his arms like he was about to hug them.

Nodding vigorously, Tettia pointed to Hakuryuu, saying happily, "Duh, of course we did! They had me after all! Hehe, Haku obtained Zagan, too! I'm so proud of my little Haku!"

Clearly surprised, Sinbad looked at the heterochromic, navy-haired imperial prince. Hakuryuu looked over at Tettia for a moment before returning his gaze to Sinbad. "Thanks to God, I obtained a Djinn as well," he spoke with a gentle smile.

Laughing and gently pushing Hakuryuu's shoulder, Tettia exclaimed, "Not solely thanks to God, Haku! Thanks to your own abilities!"

Sinbad smiled at them. "I see. We were all worried. Because something could have happened to you," he said. After a moment, he turned to his people, "Come on! Let's prepare a banquet, blessing to the heroes!" His people rallied behind their king, punching the air and cheering.

* * *

The banquet was in full swing, everyone was laughing and carrying on. In the background, a renactment of the event of the group of five's adventures in Zagan's dungeon. While the actors were good, they were not as visually pleasing as the people they portrayed.

Hakuryuu sat at a table all his own, Ka Koubun relaying to him what happened with Judar upon their return. The dark-pinkette's advisor went on to explain how they had arrived back in Sindria, "Well, Princess was so avid about returning to Sindria, so we took a ship from Balbadd, where we were residing and began our journey back to this country. On our way, we were basically shipwrecked — our sails had been destroyed by a storm, luckily we were still afloat. Luck was on our side when that Atlantean advisor stopped to help us out; and that is how we arrived back in this country."

"That is a stroke of luck," answered Hakuryuu.

Kougyoku was getting completely drunk off of sake, babbling drunkenly about Sinbad's kindness. Tettia, from her table, was whooping loudly as she watched Kougyoku get drunk. Of course, that irritated Ka Koubun. "Do not encourage the princess to act in such a way!" he exclaimed.

"Fuck you, Cuntbun! Nobody fucking likes you," exclaimed a slightly drunken Tettia.

Back on the stage, a very muscular impersonator had been selected to portray the young blue-haired Magi. Flexing his biceps, he exclaimed, "I'm Aladdin!"

From their table, Alibaba, Sharrkan and Tettia were all dying of laughter. Sputtering and pointing, the trio laughed, "Wh-why is the person impersonating Aladdin so muscular!?" Aladdin jumped up and started mimicking the impersonator, flexing his almost non-existence biceps. Crying from laughter, the trio spat everywhere, "You don't resemble him!" The young Magi continued mimicking the impersonator, sending the trio into more laughing fits.

"Aladdin!" called the king. Looking back at his best friends, Aladdin smiled at them, waved at them before running off to the king. Sinbad began to tell Aladdin about the other three Magi, subtly asking the young Magi to be Sindria's Magi.

* * *

Tettia smiled as she sat in Alibaba's lap, fairly drunk and still drinking cup after cup of wine — her favorite drink. "Hey~ Ali~" she cooed, caressing his cheek.

"Hey, Tet~ what are you doing?" asked the blond.

Giggling drunkenly, with a small hiccup, Tettia answered, "Can I not just," she hiccuped again, "admire the love of my life~?" Her warm hand was still caressing his cheek.

Alibaba blushed, unsure how to answer that. Taking in a breath, the blond collected his thoughts before opening his mouth. Letting his deep breath out, now having his scrambled thoughts somewhat collected, he spoke, "I'm not saying you can't, Tet. I was just curious is all."

Leaning up towards his face, Tettia chuckled lowly, "Curosity is perfectly fine, Ali~" The closer she got to his face, the hotter it became. Smiling a devious smile, Tettia continued to lean in closer to her lover's face. "I am going to kiss you now, Mr. Saluja," she said, drawing her face ever-closer to Alibaba's face.

Just as their lips were about to touch, Sharrkan cleared his throat, " _Ahem_ …" The reaction he got was priceless and laughter inducing.

Tettia pulled away from her lover's lips, leaving the blond leaning forward, their foreheads smacking together. "OW! FUCK! Alibaba?!" exclaimed Tettia, holding her forehead. Alibaba also held his forehead, but quickly recovered and leaned in towards Tettia; grabbing onto her waist, the blond kissed her cheek and forehead, muttering apologizes. "It's okay, Ali," smiled Tettia, "I know you didn't mean to head-butt me," she then turned her attention to the duo's master, "Master! Excuse you!"

Sharrkan snickered, "What? What'd I do, Tettia?"

Leaning over Alibaba, Tettia slapped her master's shoulder. The loud smack reverberating through the air for a brief few seconds. "You know EXACTLY what you did! Ruined a perfectly good moment between Ali and myself you did," exclaimed the huffy half-Fanalis.

"I did no such thing," answered Sharrkan with a shrug and a smile.

"Yes the fuck you did!" shouted the half-Fanalis.

* * *

After Sinbad had walked away from the drunken Kougyoku, Ja'far spoke as he followed his king, "You are quite a bad person, huh? How much power do you intend on gathering for the sake of this country?"

Sinbad looked to the sky, answering, "Don't say it like _that_. I will take all the cards I can. She's a dungeon conqueror and an imperial princess of the Kou Empire. She'll be useful sooner or later for sure!"

"Like the great _harvest_ you obtained in Balbadd?" asked the white-haired advisor.

"Yeah," answered Sinbad with a nod.

Tora snickered and said, "Yeah. Prince Babwa… Morgiana the Fanalis, and my adoptive daughter… Tet, the very skilled half-Fanalis… and above all, the fourth Magi, Aladdin! Right, King Moron?"

"Tora! Don't sneak up on us!" exclaimed a startled Ja'far. He had not expected Tora to just show up like she did.

"Shove off, Killjoy," laughed the purplenette.

Sinbad laughed and asked, "… Ja'far, Tora. Have I become a sly person?"

The adoptive siblings looked at their king and replied, "Huh?"

"Lately, when I see Alibaba and the others, I begin to remember… that time when I ran around the world, knowing nothing," spoke their king.

The three of them looked back on those times. Looking at each other then to their king, the adoptive siblings answered, "That's right… you've become sly."

"Wha…" answered Sinbad.

Tora continued, "You've achieved too many fucking things… and became what you didnt want to fucking become."

"But…" took over Ja'far, him and Tora looking at Sinbad, "this is the path you chose! And things will inevitably change. You don't have any choice but to move forward!"

Sinbad looked at his two closest generals and friends, answering, Yeah, you're right."

The adoptive siblings bowed, saying, "I will follow you to the end."

"Let's go now," said Sinbad, "to draw the next card…"

* * *

Sinbad had just finished talking with Hakuryuu when his left arm just… fell off. For no reason. It just plopped onto the ground. Everyone looked at the severed arm of the imperial prince. Suddenly, black Rukh poured from the arm; someone materializing from the Rukh. Upon the fully materialized man, everyone jumped into battle-ready position. "W-who is this guy!?" called out Alibaba in confusion, his knife drawn.

The naked man smiled and put a hand over his face. "Oh, don't you recognize me with this appearance," he spoke. Then the man's clothes magically appeared and his presence was recognizable. His signature mask gave him away.

"Oh fuck! It's Ithnan!" yelled Tettia.

"Magi, King Alibaba, and King Sinbad… I came here to invite you," said Ithnan, pointing to the trio. He then looked around, putting his hand on his hips, "I see… so _this_ is the kingdom of Sindria, huh…" Ithnan smirked and almost sneered, " _I have trouble breathing here…_ "

The magician then executed a magic attacks that injuries some citizens. "You bastard!" exclaimed a soldier. Sharrkan appeared behind Ithnan and cut one of his arms off as well as slicing the magician in half. However, from the severed arm and torso, two more Ithnans appeared; and the lower half of the original reformed to a full copy itself. "What!?" yelled everyone in shock. The copies of the magician lunged towards their targets. "The fuck is wrong with these guys!?" shouted a half-drunk Tettia, staggering back from the enemy.

One of the copies lunged at Sinbad, Masrur, Ja'far and Tora. Aladdin noticed something strange was going on. One copy exploded and got black blood on Sinbad and the same happened to Alibaba; Tettia avoided the blood by jumping out of the way. The young Magi had shielded himself and Ithnan laughed, "Heh. Only the Magi noticed…"

The blood started doing something to Alibaba and Sinbad. "What's wrong with this blood…!?" shouted Alibaba, looking at his blackened right arm.

"But, it's too late now… for those two. Following the will of our Father, we bestow upon you a _curse of DEATH_!" explained Ithnan.

Looking at his blackened arm, Alibaba asked, "A curse…!?" Tettia touched his shoulder, assuring him that everything would be alright. "Thank you, Tet," he spoke with a smile. The redhead lover smiled and kissed his cheek, saying there was no reason to thank her.

"Why you…" hissed Marina through gritted teeth, lunging at Ithnan along with Sindrian soldiers, "What did you do to Sin the Perv!?"

With his arm outstretched, Aladdin called out to the Atlantean queen and the soldiers, "Stop, you can't cut him!"

Marina looked at Aladdin and sighed, "You're kissing me, right?!"

"The Magi has good perception. That's our _'invitation letter'_ … to the _first class singularity,_ King Sinbad… and the vessel that was chosen by Solomon's arrogance, King Alibaba. Become Black Kings, and surrender to our Father! That thing will possess your blood vessels and dye your Rukh black! Before long, you will be reborn as totally different human beings… because there isn't a single person in the world who doesn't possess a little bit of darkness in his heart," spoke the Al-Thamen magician.

Aladdin and Marina gasped, "Falling into depravity…!?"

The dark magician laughed, "You cannot oppose that flow. If you try to do so, Solomon's Rukh and your black Rukh will destroy each other inside of your body… and your flesh will rot." Ithnan started to float into the sky, "Well then… you'll have to excuse me. This country is so full of white Rukh that I have problems breathing… but," he smirked at Hakuryuu, "it was _really_ _**comfortable**_ living inside you, prince." Hakuryuu looked at Ithnan in horror; vanishing, the magician's voice lingered, saying a simple, "Let is meet again!" before completely fading out.

Once the bastard was gone, soldiers swarmed. "Help the injured! What the hell was that curse of death…!?"

* * *

Later, in the palace, everyone was gathered around Alibaba and Sinbad. Yeah blond held his blackened right arm as he said questioningly, "What should we do about this…?"

"What a shame to allow this to happen to our apprentices…" spoke Sharrkan. Marina looked at Sharrkan, saying, "You're lucky my daughter didn't get hit by that blood. I'd have your head if she was in this situation." After she uttered that, everyone looked solemnly at the blond and purple-haired king. That was when Sinbad spoke, "Don't panic. _Curses_ don't exist. This is most likely some sort of magic. Isn't that right, Yamraiha?"

Taking Sinbad's _cursed_ arm into her hands, the bluenette magician spoke, "Yes. This is magic. This black bruise… it works because of magic. If this is magic, then I'm sure there is a way to cancel it!"

"That's great!" exclaimed Aladdin, Alibaba, Tettia and Marina.

Scrunching her nose up, Yamraiha continued, "But, I've never seen such magic. It's a magic that attacks other people's Magoi! I have no idea what orders of formula made this magic work!" Looking even more at Sinbad's arm, the magician said, "For a magic as complex as this, only the person who cast it would know how to undo it…"

"How come…" sighed Tettia.

Tora looked at the arm, tapped her chin and said to the light blue-haired magician, "I'm sure I can help you figure out a way to cancel it out, Yam. After all, I use some pretty complex magic like this whenever I transform into my snake form. If we work together, we should figure it out rather quickly."

"But, you're certain this is magic. So there must be a way to undo it, right?" asked Aladdin.

Yamraiha and Tora looked up from their king's arm. "Yes," they answered.

A determined look flashed across Aladdin's face as he said, "Then I _will_ undo it. I won't let you two die from such magic!"

"Aladdin…" said Alibaba, looking at the young Magi he had the privilege to call his best friend.

Tora smiled at Aladdin, "You can sure help me and Yam, Short-stack. We'll need all the fucking help we can get."

Sighing, the purple-haired king said, "In any case, Yamraiha… suppress the magic on Alibaba for the moment."

The young Magi looked at the purple-haired king. "But… didn't he cast the same magic on you…?" he asked, along with Marina.

Smiling, Sinbad reassured the young Magi and the golden-haired queen, "Yeah. Well, I'm alright." Everyone looked at him questioningly — save for Ja'far, Masrur, Tora, Drakon, Hinahoho and Sarabi. "Well then… there's only one thing left for me to do. Tora," said Sinbad, standing up.

"Yeah, King Moron? What'cha fucking need?" answered the purplenette, stepping towards her king.

Turning his golden gaze towards her, Sinbad answered her, "Prepare the teleportation magic circle…" Nodding, Tora got to work. Once the magic circle was operational, Sinbad stepped through it. Appearing before Ithnan from the glowing white teleportation circle, Sinbad waved at him. "Hey," his face almost darkened as he continued, "did you _really_ think that someone from Al-Thamen… would return **alive** after _illegally_ **trespassing** into _my country_?" With a smile on his face, the Sindrian king stepped completely out of the circle and prepared for battle against the magician.


	30. Groundwork

**Chapter Thirty: The Groundwork for Solo Adventures**

 **A/N: As you all know, I am terrible at writing fight scenes and this chapter LITERALLY OPENS ON A GOTDAMN FIGHT! So y'know, fuck me, right? Also, you get a tiny bit of information on a fear/phobia of Tet's that causes her to panic. I've also never had a panic attack, so I didn't even TRY to write down what it feels like to have one at the very end.**

* * *

Ithnan was clearly taken aback by the appearance of Sinbad. "Why… are _you here_!?"

Without skipping a beat, Sinbad said, "Release the magic on Alibaba."

"That's impossible. That's _'the will of our Father'_. It is already out of my hands," answered the Al-Thamen magician.

"I see…" hummed Sinbad, his golden eyes narrowed. "Spirit of Dominance and Submission, Focalor, dwell in my body," spoke the king, his silver bracelet glowing as the Djinn was evoked. Sinbad performed a Full-Body Djinn Equip. The kind took on the appearance of a bird, dark feathers covered various parts his body; his hair grew longer and took on a maroon-ish color and was feather-like at the ends. "In that case, _you're of no use_."

From the other side of the Magic Circle, Tora was rooting, "Hell yeah! Been a good fucking while since I've seen you use Focalor! Kick his ass, King Moron!"

The green-haired dark magician snickered as he said, "How conceited of you, Sinbad, to come after me by yourself. Even if you've survived until today because you were protected by those Household Vessel users and that magic barrier…"

Tora growled at that man's bullshit. She, Yamraiha and Sinbad worked hard to perfect that spell; in order to protect the citizens of Sindria. "Kill him, King Moron…" she growled dangerously from the other side.

"That _barrier_ is not something used just to protect _me_ ," said Sinbad, crossing his arms over his chest. That information had Ithnan looking at the king with a curious look.

* * *

Walking into the room, accompanied by Yamraiha, Tettia and Aladdin asked in curiosity, "Transfer Magic Circle?"

In place of Tora, Yamraiha explained, "That's right. You two asked me where King Sinbad disappeared to. This is the answer. Two kinds of barriers cover this country. One is used to identify and hinder our enemies… that is the _defensive barrier_. And the other one is…"

"A barrier that tracks the position of a damn enemy that was able to trespass into our kingdom, and it can also transfer anyone to the fucking enemy's location within a range of two-hundred kilometers around the main island. That's the wonderful thing that is our _Transfer Magic Circle_ ," chimed in Tora, looking over her shoulder.

The half-Fanalis clapped her hands slowly, "Wow. Go, Tor and Yamu."

Aladdin gasped, "Is something like that even possible…!?"

Yamraiha gushed, "It's something the King, Tora and I completed to protect Sindria. It is a magic that Tora and I have great pride in!"

Nodding, Tettia said, "And that's something to be proud of! I didn't know Tora was such a strong magician!"

Shrugging, the purplenette answered, "Well, I fucking am. I usually don't like using magic, unless it's for my own personal use, but we can't stretch Yam's magic too thin. So, I pitched in my own magic so the barriers would have a type of reinforcement."

"Yeah, but still, you help keep our country safe. It is nice to know that if my magic fails, we have your magic, Tora," said Yamraiha.

Smiling at the bluenette magician, the purplenette said, "Awww~ Thanks yous, Yam! That means a lot coming from you."

* * *

Sinbad's hands moved to rest on his hips as he looked at Ithnan with narrowed eyes. The green-haired man looked at King Sinbad with dangerous eyes as he said, "You play petty tricks…" Sinbad was then afflicted by the curse that was placed on him, he gasped in discomfort if not a little pain. Ithnan laughed and caused Black Rukh to gather around Sinbad. "From the moment you were given that curse, you became a doll I can manipulate at will! Watch! The Black Rukh that propagate in that bruise are my servants!" Sinbad was obviously somewhat distressed at the Black Rukh attacking him. "Let's see… how much Black Rukh were raised inside your body…?" asked a malicious Ithnan.

"Oh shit, Sinny!" exclaimed Tettia from the other side of the Circle.

Tettia wanted to jump through the Magic Circle and assist Sinbad, in fact, she lunged towards said circle and was about to jump through it. However, in the nick of time, Tora grabbed her by the arm, shaking her head in disapproval. "No. You don't get to help King Moron, he's not your priority now. Babwa is. Go to him, Tet. Aladdin is there too. Sinbad has this covered," she said.

"B-but… I still care for Sinny! I can't just sit here and watch him being effected like this!" retorted the redhead.

Tora looked at her redhead best friend with stern eyes. "I know you still care for King Moron, but, think about this… Alibaba is probably in so much more pain than King Moron is. Thus, he needs his loving partner to be there for him… to be there when he comes out of this pain."

As the duo were doing their thing, Ithnan gasped loudly as he looked at Sinbad. "What? That's…" he said.

"What?!" the young women exclaimed, snapping their gazes back towards the men fighting. The Black Rukh were being absorbed. By Sinbad. "Th-the Black Rukh were…!?" the three exclaimed in utter shock.

Sinbad smiled darkly as he said, "So _that_ was the _curse_ , huh? Unfortunately, this body is already cursed. Your curse wasn't strong enough to take over." He summoned wind around his hands.

"Impossible…!" exclaimed Ithnan, "Impossible… _Impossible_ , you…!?" He shakily pointed at Sinbad, almost fearful. "You're already _half-way… fallen_ …!?"

Tettia stood there in shock. _Sinny is… half-way… fallen…_ she thought almost sadly to herself. Sucking in a deep breath through her teeth, she turned on her heels and left the room. Taking Tora's advice, she decided it best to find where Yamraiha and Aladdin had gone.

Watching the retreating form of her best friend, Tora's eyes saddened a bit. She had known about Sinbad's condition, of being half-way fallen, and it did not bother her. After all, he was still the same Sinbad who saved her life as a three-year-old, Tora could not ever truly hate the purple-haired king. Sighing, she turned her attention back towards Sinbad, "Hurry it up, King Moron… we still have to fucking deal with Alibaba's situation."

* * *

Alibaba was laying in the center of another magic circle, groaning in intense pain. Tettia kicked open the door and ran to Aladdin's side as he exclaimed, "Alibaba!" Casting her crimson eyes towards her lover, the half-Fanalis grabbed a fist-full of her shirt over her heart. She was hurting as she watched Alibaba lay on the ground, writhing in pain — and there was _nothing_ she could do to help.

Yamraiha gritted her teeth as she said, "This is _bad_ … the Magoi of the caster took shape and is going wild inside his body…"

Gasping, both Tettia and Aladdin looked directly at the bluenette magician. "Can't we do anything…!?" they said worriedly. Tettia's crimson eyes were watering, she did not want to lose the blond she had grown to love _so much_.

"It's difficult… because the Magoi emitted by our enemy's Rukh is spreading into every corner of his vital organs. If we aren't skilled enough when we make out move… he could die! Because there isn't a way to remove _just_ the enemy's Rukh from his body…!" Aladdin and Tettia's eyes widened and the half-Fanalis hugged the young Magi close to her body. "But… it would be different if we could enter directly into his body…"

Aladdin looked up, into the eyes of his best friend and older sister. Tettia looked sadly into his eyes.

"What's Alibaba's situation!?" exclaimed Sinbad, walking into the room, Tora following on his heels.

"Sinbad…" they all said.

Yamraiha proceeded to explain Alibaba's situation to the Sindrian king and Tora. "…I see. But the advancement of the _curse_ is slow… is it because you are suppressing it, Yamraiha?" asked the king.

The purplenette had walked over to Tettia and was hugging on her comfortingly. Nodding, the magician answered her king, "Yes… but that's not the only thing. Alibaba's own body… his resistance to this _curse_ is stronger than normal. I wonder what it is…? But if the situation continues like this, things will get bad. The curse grows by drawing from Alibaba's Magoi. If we aren't careful, that man could be revived by feasting on his body…!"

"If that bastard comes back using _MY_ _lover's_ body, I am going to break his face with my own hands. I will rip his still-beating heart out and shove it down his throat!" hissed Tettia.

Rubbing her back, Tora spoke in a calming manner, "Calm down, beautiful. He's not going to come back, Yam is just saying what _could_ happen. I won't let him come back using Babwa's body."

Aladdin looked at Alibaba was worried-filled eyes. "Aladdin," said Sinbad. The young Magi looked at Sinbad and the king continued, "You can help Alibaba, right?" Aladdin looked at Sinbad with determine-filled eyes, sucking in a breath through his nose. "You _are_ a Magi. You have a special power when it comes to things regarding the Rukh… also… you still have a mysterious power that you haven't showed us yet, right? Use it. To save your friend!"

Nodding and readying his staff, the young Magi said, "I understand. _Solomon's Wisdom_!" Sinbad and everyone watched as Rukh swirled around the blond and young bluenette Magi.

The Magi soon fell, completely unconscious. Tettia instant shot away from Tora and caught Aladdin's body as it fell. Before anybody could say anything, she said, "Laddin isn't here anymore… his consciousness is in the Rukh's world right now."

Sinbad looked at Aladdin, who was resting in Tettia's arms. _This is… Solomon's Power…!_ thought the king to himself.

The half-Fanalis sat down, with Aladdin's limp body in her lap. "Come back soon and save Ali, Laddin," she said.

* * *

A handful of minutes later, Rukh seemed to erupt from the blond's body, sending a shockwave (or something of the like) throughout the room. Tettia looked at him, looking up from her best friend's unconscious body. "Hm?" she hummed questioningly.

"The bruise vanished…" said Yamraiha and Tora.

Tettia's eyes twinkled as she looked down at the unconscious Magi. "You did it, Laddin, now come back to us," she muttered, kissing his forehead. Nobody had noticed the red earrings that suddenly appeared on Alibaba's left earlobe. Finally, the young Magi stirred from his unconscious state. "Laddin?" she questioned, looking down at him.

Rubbing his eyes, Aladdin blinked slowly. "Is Alibaba alright?" he asked his redhead best friend.

Smiling a relieved smile, and tears pricking at the corners of her eyes once again, Tettia hugged him close. "I'll check on him in a moment! I'm glad you're back!" she exclaimed.

Alibaba groaned, held his head and sat up. He had heard what his lover had said and scoffed, "Glad to hear I mean _so much_ to you, Tet."

Releasing Aladdin from her hug, Tettia bounded towards the blond. She tackled him to the ground in a big hug, and buried her face into his clothed chest. The blond landed with a puff of air escaping his body and laid there for a moment, before returning the hug. "I was _so fucking worried_ about you, Alibaba! Both you _and_ Laddin mean the world to me, I was freaking out," she practically sobbed into his chest, "I-I was worried I would be left alone again! I was terrified!"

" _Again_? What do you mean by that?" asked Alibaba as he rubbed her back.

Aladdin walked over and sat beside them, saying, "She's talking about before she met me, she was all alone. Her parents were murdered… leaving Tet in this world all alone… until she found me."

"Are you fucking serious? How long were you alone for, Tet?" asked Tora, crouching down beside Tettia, rubbing her back as well.

Sniffling, Tettia answered, "Two years…"

Tora looked at her best friend with soften eyes. "Oh, I can understand why you would be so devastated if you lost Little Man, then. You would be heartbroken to lose Babwa because he is your lover. I can relate… that's a legitimate fear of mine, too. However, I was never alone for long. Fifteen years ago, King Moron saved my life when I was alone and being tortured by bandits and slave traders. I can relate to your fear," she said.

"H-he did?" asked Tettia.

"Yep, he sure did. I haven't liked being alone at night one fucking bit since that day. Whenever I'm alone for a certain amount of time, I start to panic, scream for my parents and curl into the fetal position… and stay that way for a few hours, if someone comes to keep me company. That's why I will always have someone with me at night, if I'm not latched onto Massy," she explained, "And I could tell that you were panicking on the inside, Tet. But, there's nothing to worry about, they're safe and sound."

Taking in the purplenette's words, Tettia let out a breath of relief, she was honestly panicking. However, Tora was correct, there was nothing to be panicking about anymore: her blue-haired best friend and her blond lover were fine. The curse was lifted from Alibaba and it was thanks to Aladdin. "Y-you're right… there's nothing to worry about. Laddin always knows what he's doing when he uses _Solomon's Wisdom_ … I shouldn't've started worrying now," she sniffled, sitting up and wiping away her tears, "This time just felt… surreal for some reason… especially with all that's happened."

Aladdin hugged her and nuzzled his face into her chest, for the first time in front of their friends, "Well~ it's good to be back with you, Tet~ I appreciate you worrying about me~!"

"L-laddin!" squeaked Tettia, trying to push the young Magi out of her breasts, which was not really working.

Everyone looked on with their jaws dropped, Yamraiha gripped her staff tightly and was about to hit Aladdin before Tora stopped her. "Don't do that, Tet's liable to kill you if you hit him, whether it hurts him or not. She just calmed down from having a inner panic," the other magician warned the other in a whisper. Begrudgingly, Yamraiha lowered her staff and let Aladdin's perverse action slid this one time.

Alibaba and Sinbad stared at the duo, the redhead still fruitlessly trying to stop the Magi from feeling up her breasts. _How dare him! I haven't even done that_ , the two golden-eyed men thought to themselves. Could someone explain to those two how Aladdin, the _ten or eleven_ year old got more breast action than Alibaba and Sinbad got? Well, Sinbad could get some, but he would always be too drunk to remember fondling or molesting a woman. Meanwhile, Alibaba just did not have luck with women and it made him jealous that Aladdin was _oh-so_ popular with the ladies. ALL the ladies — the ladies in pleasure houses and apparently even with Alibaba lover.

Tora smirked and said, as Tettia's erupted into fits of laughter as Aladdin continued fondling her, " _Sooooo_ ~ Tet~? Is this what Little Man did to you when you first met? Ya know, when he saw you naked as a first impression?" The half-Fanalis's laughter stopped immediately as those words fell from the purplenette's lips, Aladdin's fondling and tickling also ceased instantly.

Alibaba, Yamraiha, and Sinbad snapped their gazes towards Tora as she said that. " _ **WHAT**_!?" they scream-asked hysterically.

Just as the purplenette was about to speak, Marina busted through the door, yelling, "WHAT IS WITH THE SCREAMING?!"

"Oh, hey, Mari. I was just asking if Little Man had done _that_ ," Tora pointed to Aladdin, who still had two handfuls of Tettia's breasts and looking at the purplenette with doe-eyes, "when he and Tet first met. Ya remember, when he saw her naked?"

Marina's purple hues darted to her now adoptive daughter and a fury erupted deep within her as she hissed, "What is he doing to my baby!?"

Throwing her arms up to defend herself and Aladdin from Marina's wrath, Tettia shouted, "DON'T! D-don't hurt Laddin, Mar—"

"Mom," corrected Marina, glowering at her daughter.

"— _Mom._ Don't hurt Laddin. Also, to answer your question, Tor, yes. Laddin did this _exact_ same thing when we first met. And yes, it was slightly embarrassing, and tickled like hell. It was my first time having my chest fondled after all," she laughed, looking down at Aladdin, petting his hair.

Aladdin smiled a huge smile as he stopped fondling the half-Fanalis's chest. "Sorry Tet, I couldn't help myself~ it's been so long since you let me do that~"

Alibaba bit back some jealousy, _So, not only did he see Tet naked before me, but lucky bastard got to fondle her before me, too? Seriously?!_ he thought to himself. Wrapping an arm around Tettia's shoulders and pulling her close to him, Alibaba kissed her forehead, mumbling, "She's _mine_ , Aladdin."

Tora laughed, Marina still looked like she wanted to thrash the young perverse Magi, Yamraiha had the same desire as the Atlantean queen, and Sinbad was just taken aback.

* * *

Several hours later, Tora, Yamraiha, and Sinbad had gone to a meeting of the Eight Generals — Marina had joined them since Atlantis and Sindria were such close allies. In the conference room, the moment Tora entered it and saw her husband, she squealed and launched herself at Masrur — who promptly caught her in his arms. "Oh, Massy~~~~ I missed you soooo much~~~~" gushed Tora, kissing Masrur's cheek.

"It has only been a few hours," answered Masrur as stoic as ever, but smiling as his wife kissed his cheek.

Tora dramatically went limp in his arms, groaning loudly, "But stiiiiiillllll~~ I fucking missed you~~~ didn't you miss meee~~~"

Smiling briefly and softly, Masrur leaned forward and kissed Tora's forehead. "Of course I missed you, Tora. It felt weird without you hanging onto me as per usual," he said.

Blushing, Tora covered her face, sputtering, "A-a-awwww…"

Clearing his throat, Ja'far looked at the married couple, "Can we start the meeting?"

Quickly getting over her embarrassment, Tora nodded, having Masrur put her down. "Yeah, fucking go for it, Killjoy," she said blankly, not really wanting to be in that stupid meeting.

Ja'far huffed and proceeded to unroll the scroll in his hand, saying, "Well then, I will announce the results of the last Dungeon Conquest to the Eight Generals. And our Atlantean allies. Around twenty-four dungeon items, the total cost of the treasure is around three million dinar, but the greatest spoil of war," the white-haired advisor pulled Dunya's broken staff from his sleeve as if by magic; he placed it onto the round table as he said, "is… _probably_ this."

Drakon gasped, "Oooh! Is this…!?"

Pointing to it, Ja'far continued, "Yes… This is a Dark Metal Vessel from the Organization. Also, one of the users of such a toll, that princess from the _Mustashim Kingdom,_ is presently being confined inside the royal palace."

"Ooooh…!" said Drakon.

"Those things and their wielders are _nothing_ to mess with," interjected Marina, crossing her arms.

Sharrkan nodded and said, "Isn't that the truth. I was saved by _one of my disciples_ , for goodness sake!"

"Everybody…" started Sinbad, "I need your attention." When his voice rang out, Marina and Sharrkan instantly were quiet; everyone's eyes were suddenly on him. He was resting his forehead against his hands as he continued, "A big ordeal… will probably befall this country before long… but fear not. Because I've gathered so much strength to overcome such an ordeal… to protect Sindria. And with our good, old friends from Atlantis here, we have extra power that could be utilized, should we need the help. And now, we are continuing to gather even more strength. I'm sure, that we will be able to get it with our hands as well." He clenched his fist, "Because the world we continued to wish for…" the Eight Generals saluted him as he finished with a powerful statement, " _is our destiny, itself_!"

* * *

The rest of the day was okay, Tettia and Alibaba ran into Kougyoku in the garden. The blond former prince stepping on the Kou Empire princess's pile of flowers and made her a flower crown as a means of apologizing. She then asked how the blond had done that.

Even later than that, Aladdin's turban, which had been destroyed in Zagan's Dungeon had been fixed by Yamraiha. Soon after that, Tettia and Aladdin went to visit Dunya, who seemingly would only talk to those two and only those two. The reason why the mint-haired princess would talk to Aladdin was clear enough, what was not clear was why she would talk with Tettia. Sinbad and Yamraiha walked into the room at the wrong time, the three were twisted into a human pretzel — Aladdin fondling Dunya and Tettia trying to pry the perverse young blue-haired Magi off of the princess. Deciding she had enough of her perverted best friend, Tettia left the room.

"Depart from Sindria!?" exclaimed Alibaba.

Tettia heard that and ran towards her lover's voice, "WHAT?! WHO IS LEAVING?!" she screamed as she tried to skid to a stop beside her lover and fellow Fanalis. However, life never worked that way for Tettia; since she was running at them from behind, Tettia slid right into Hakuryuu. They both fell down, Tettia yelped as they went down, "FUCK ME RUNNING!"

Hakuryuu and Tettia landed on the ground beside each other. "Lady Tettia, are you all right?" he asked, quickly standing up, offereing her his hand.

Taking his hand and being helped up, Tettia said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Haku." Straightening out her skirt, and patting off some dirt, the half-Fanalis asked, "Now, who is leaving Sindria?"

Alibaba sighed and said, "Hakuryuu is."

Gasping, the half-Fanalis looked beside her, completely shocked, "Haku?"

Furrowing his eyebrows together, the navy-haired prince smiled as he said, "Yes. I will depart by a ship a week from today. There were troubles I did not expect, but… I've almost reached my objective in this country…"

"…Are you… going back to the Kou Empire?" asked Morgiana.

"No, I intend to meet my sister who is in charge of the Western Tenzan Base. What will you do from now on, Sir Alibaba, Lady Tettia, Lady Morgiana?"

"Eh? U-us?" stuttered Alibaba, he then looked at Tettia then Morgiana, "For the time being, we will be with Sinbad! Right, Tet? Right, Morgiana?"

Both the Fanalis females looked at Alibaba and asked, "Eh?"

"Are you fine with… Balbadd's current situation?" Hakuryuu asked.

Alibaba stood there, in silence for a moment. "Eh?" he said, "No, that's…"

Hakuryuu smiled as he said, "No, I'm sure you have some plans about it. Let me use this time to say this… at first, I thought you were an irresponsible guy that never thought about what he was doing…"

"Well, you already told me that while we were in Zagan…" commented Alibaba, pointing out what the imperial prince had said.

"Yeah! And accused Ali and I of fucking! When we haven't even done more than kiss!" chimed in Tettia.

"R-really? Anyway… now I know that it's not true, so… no matter what path you choose, I'm sure that you will follow what you believe. And I am positive that Lady Tettia will be right there, by your side the whole way through," said the imperial prince. "We don't have much time left, but… let's continued to enjoy it together."

Puffing her cheeks out, Tettia got teary-eyed. "H-Haku…!" she exclaimed as she gave him a bear hug.

* * *

It was nighttime and Tettia was in Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana's room. Alibaba had explained what Hakuryuu had said, "…So… that's what Hakuryuu said this afternoon… I feel like I have been with him together for a long time because of all the things that happened in the dungeon, but… I'm sure I will feel lonely after having to part ways so soon…"

"…yeah," said Aladdin and Tettia. Tettia was laying right between Morgiana and Alibaba.

The blond thought back to what Hakuryuu had said, "… from now on, huh… but for now we will remain here!"

Aladdin sighed and sat up. "Alibaba. Tet. Mor. I have something to tell you," he said.

The trio sat up and echoed, "Something to tell us?"

Taking his staff into his hands, Aladdin said, "I think… very soon… I will… go on a journey alone!"

Tettia swore she just heard glass shattering. _Wait…_ _ **what?**_


	31. New Friend?

**Chapter Thirty-One: A New Unlikely Friend?**

 **A/N: Welp, Tet just made an unlikely new friend. Yay for her!**

* * *

"A… a _solo journey_? What do you mean, Aladdin?" asked Alibaba.

Tettia nodded, trying to calm herself down internally. Her mind was running ninety-to-nothing. _Laddin can't be serious, he must be joking with us… there is no way he would be serious about leaving me alone like that_ , she rationalized to herself.

The young Magi looked his half-Fanalis best friend and said, "There is a big school of magic in a country called Magnostadt. I definitely want to go there and study magic."

Alibaba sat up on his knees and said, "…Wow… s-study, huh… but you can do that under Yamraiha's wing! Right?"

"Yeah…" nodded the young Magi, "that's true, but I also have other reasons. Tet, Mor, Alibaba, lately, I've begun to wonder is it's really right for me to stay here like this." The trio looked at him questioningly, Tettia seeming on the verge of tears (but she bit back her overpowering sadness). "This country is a good place, but… Sinbad's radiance here is _too strong_. And I feel like I would be swallowed up into the path he has chosen without even realizing it. I want to know a lot more things about this vast world! That's why I will go on a journey," he said with a smile, hoping his friends would understand.

Immediately, Tettia's sadness melted away and she understood. _I can't do anything to change his mind_ , she thought to herself, accepting her best friend's decision. Though she was hurt that she would be away from the young boy for an undeterminable amount of time, Tettia knew that when they reconverged, he would be stronger.

"A-Aladdin… I see… _yeah_ … a journey… that could be a good idea! Yeah, yeah," exclaimed the blond. Everyone looked at him. "If that's the way it is, then of course, we'll go, too! Right, Tet!? Morgiana!?"

Morgiana was caught off guard but nodded as she stumbled out a, "Y-yes."

As much as Tettia wanted to agree, she knew Aladdin too well, so she shook her head subtly. "You can't," answered Aladdin.

"…Huh?" gasped Alibaba, throughly confused.

"No matter what, I want to go to Magnostadt alone," said the blue-haired boy.

* * *

Sinbad, Ja'far and Yamraiha walked down the hallway. "I was _really_ surprised when Aladdin said that he wanted to go to Magnostadt," spoked Yamraiha with a smile.

The purple-haired king's facial expression did not portray a sense of happiness at the young Magi's desire. " _…Yeah_. But… I cannot let him go…"

"It's not like he'll be gone forever. Aladdin will go there to search for information about the Black Metal Vessels, right?" countered Yamraiha.

Sinbad looked over his shoulders at her, his arms crossed over his chest. "Y-yes… but it's too _dangerous_."

Smiling brightly, the blue haired female magician said, "It'll be alright!"

"It seems like you _really_ want Aladdin to go, huh, Yamraiha?" asked a long-faced Sinbad.

"Of course! Because… because Aladdin is… a _magnificent_ raw ore… as a Magi, not only does he have the quality to become an unparalleled magician, but he is also full to the brim with desire for gathering all different kinds of knowledge about magic now that he's encountered the general idea about it. With that… if he jumps into the greatest institution in the world that is dedicated to raising magicians… what do you think will happen!? I'm sure he will become a great magician… one whom no one has seen before!" exclaimed an excited Yamraiha. She then proceeded to clench her fists, continuing, "It _really irritates_ me to see someone like him be secluded, even if he is under the tutelage of someone like me…"

Sinbad and Ja'far looked at her. "But with your experience, you should be the first to know that there are dark suspicions about the academy, right?" the king of Sindria asked the powerful bluenette sorceress. A shadow fell over her eyes as Sinbad continued, "Right now, Magnostadt is a country that is building bizarre national policies that discriminates between magicians and normal people."

"Plus, Aladdin said that he wanted to go there just after he was told about that…" chimed Ja'far.

"What in the world is he thinking…?" questioned the golden-eyed king.

* * *

"What in the world are you thinking, Aladdin!?" exclaimed Alibaba, clearly against the idea of Aladdin going on a journey of his own solo. And truly, Tettia felt the exact same way. "Why are you going to a country that is probably involved with Al-Thamen? In that case, I will go, too!" Tettia clenched her fists as she said, "Me too!" Aladdin looked the two in the eye and silently shook his head no. "What's with that… aren't you being cold…?" asked the blond and redhead, both put off by Aladdin action.

"Alibaba. I want… to make you into a king. But not a king of some country out there… I want to turn you into a person… who can give hope to others while the world is falling apart…" he said, then looked at Tettia. He did not even have to say anything for her to understand, she just knew. Meanwhile, Alibaba pouted like an angry child. "Plus, I'm not strong enough."

The blond had since stood up and he had his hand on his hips, he scoffed, " _Not strong enough_ , you say… aren't you incredible already…?"

"No. I've thought about it. In Balbadd, and the other time in the dungeon… the people whom we could save with our strength alone… weren't they really few?" Aladdin's observation shocked everyone, Alibaba was still pouting despite knowing Aladdin was right. "The ones who always saved us at the end were Sinbad and the Eight Generals. Compared to them, I don't have enough power and knowledge. So, I want to obtain those…"

"I already told you, if you want to train, I will go with you! Me and Tet will go with you!" exclaimed the now agitated blond.

Reluctantly, Tettia spoke up, "Actually, Ali… I don't want to go with Laddin. If he wants to do this on his own, I cannot stop him. I love him like a brother and I will respect his decisions." That caused her blond lover to look at her with wide eyes.

Aladdin sighed, "No. You cannot come with me, Alibaba. You have to think by yourself about what you want to do. Ah, also, I heard right now, only magicians are admitted into Magnostadt. Alibaba and Mor… I want you to be able to consider things around you for yourselves. Because I know Tet can do that."

Reluctantly, Alibaba sat down next to Tettia. "What does that count for… it doesn't feel right…"

"You're right, Ali, it doesn't… but at least you'll have me. We can survive for a bit without Laddin," spoke Tettia as she covered one of his hands with her own.

Aladdin smiled, "This is also something that Sinbad told us before, right, Mor?"

"Huh?" asked the purebred Fanalis. After a moment, it returned to her, "Yeah…"

* * *

The next day, Masrur and Tora were training Morgiana. The Fanalis did not seem to be performing at top capability. Masrur caught Morgiana by her ankle as she was lost in thought. "What's wrong?" he asked, " _'The toll that the Magoi manipulation takes on me is too great, so I prefer to improve my martial arts.'_ Weren't you the one who said that?"

"Yeah, you doing alright, honey?" asked Tora from behind the shady nearby tree.

Morgiana sighed, "…Sorry. U-um… Masrur… Tora…" she began. When the married couple hummed a "hm?", Morgiana continued, "W-what kind of place is the _Dark Continent_?" Masrur and his wife looked at the young Fanalis with a questioning expression. "You… you said that you two've been there."

The purplenette grunted as she stood up, saying, " _Yeah,_ that's true, but… it's… Massy, how do you describe it?"

"A big sun on a vast land… There were animals and plants several times bigger than the ones here that live there freely… and the place had a really unforgettable scent," commented Masrur.

Morgiana looked down at the ground, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "It sounds so nice…" she muttered.

Nodding, Tora took ahold of her adoptive daughter's hands as she said, "It really fucking is! You should definitely go there, _at least_ once. It's quite near here, too!"

"I-it's not _that_ simple…" retorted a blushing Morgiana.

Masrur grunted and pointed in a direction, saying, "No, it's simple. It's _that_ way. But it's probably not a special place like you anticipate it to be." Tora returned to Masrur's side and nodded in agreement.

"…Huh?" questioned the young Fanalis.

The older male Fanalis continued, "In the past, I really longed for the home village I never saw, and I was brought there because I was really concerned about it. But… there wasn't even one Fanalis there…"

Morgiana's dreams looked like they were just shattered as she asked quietly, "Not even one…"

"I don't know if they were all made slaves or if they migrates inland," spoke Masrur.

Stroking Morigana's crimson hair comfortingly, Tora said, "Sorry, we didn't tell you because we though you would be disappointed."

The older Fanalis stretched as he said, "Anyway, that rid me of my longings. Afterwards, I didn't have any lingering affection for my homeland."

" _Lingering affection_ …" echoed Morgiana almost sadly.

Sighing, Tora spoke, "If you think that you'll be worried about it forever, maybe it's better if you fucking go there, once. Just to get it off your mind, right, Massy?" Masrur nodded in agreement with his wife.

* * *

At nighttime, Sharrkan had taken his disciples to a pleasure house. Alibaba had gotten so drunk, and he was whining. Tettia was sitting in the middle of her handsome dark-skinned master and her blundering, drunk lover. "Listen to me~~~~ Master~~~~~!" whined Alibaba, drooling drunkenly as he whined, "Aladdin was so mean to me and Tet~~~~"

Sharrkan sat there in irritated silence as he listened to his blond disciple's whining. He cast his emerald gazed at Tettia, who shrugged, "He wasn't really mean to us, he was just stern and serious about doing this by himself."

"Man, I thought you had something to say to me, Alibaba, as you rarely come with me to have a drink… and the _only_ thing you so is _complain_!? It's always either Psiti or Tettia coming with me, if not both of them," said Sharrkan as he reached for his cup of wine, "…But you know, Aladdin has a reason for doing this, right? I've already decided to follow Sinbad for the rest of my life, but… it shouldn't be so simple for you to decide to follow a king of another country, considering that you are a prince yourself…"

Alibaba drunkenly lifted his head off of the table and slurred, "It~ ~ ~ is not like that~ ~ ~ you don't understand ~ ~ ~ ~ Master~ ~"

"Ah, that's right! Why don't you go through warrior's training that doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you're a prince!? Isn't something like the Reim's Coliseum the perfect place? I'll root for you," said a sarcastic and irresponsible Sharrkan, " _Kyaaah~ Alibaba, you're so cool_!"

Tettia slapped her master's arm, which caused him to yelp. "Master Sharr… so help me God if he does that, you're the one who's gonna die," she said.

Tsking his master, Alibaba slurred, "I already told you ~ ~ ~ that it's not like that ~ ~ ~"

"Ali—" the half-Fanalis tried to cut in.

Snapping his head to look at her, Alibaba snapped, "Shut up! I'm in the middle of a man-to-man talk with my Master now!"

Sucking in a breath, Tettia had to stop herself from slapping the drunken blush from her lover's face. Sharrkan sweat-dropped and finally kicked Alibaba out of the pleasure house, exclaiming, "Go home, Whining-baba! Tettia, make sure that drunk moron gets home, okay?"

"Of course, Master Sharr," she said as she exited the pleasure house. Alibaba laid on the stone outside the pleasure house's entrance. "You okay, Ali?" she asked, standing over the blond.

Alibaba looked up at her, then looked at the starry sky, "I don't… understand…" he slurred.

Sitting down beside him, his redhead lover nodded, "Neither do I, Ali."

"I never thought that… Aladdin would say such a thing…" he muttered.

Laughing softly, the redhead replied, "You're telling me… he's like my little brother, it shocked me, too."

Tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, Alibaba sucked in a breath, pouty-faced. "No, no… there's something wrong… that isn't something Aladdin would do… he'll change his mind… by tomorrow…"

"Yeah, maybe he will. Now, c'mon, Ali. There is no way I am having you drunkenly pass out in the streets, back to the palace we go," said Tettia as she took one of his arms, wrapped it around her neck and stood up — bringing her drunk lover with her.

* * *

Some time later, Aladdin, Alibaba, Tettia, Morgiana and Hakuryuu watched as the princess's coffin burned. They were carrying out her funeral. Aladdin, Yamraiha, Tora and the medics of the Royal Palace worked in vain and Dunya died after becoming weaker and weaker due to an unclear cause.

"Hey… did you see her corpse?" asked one soldier to another.

"Yeah, what was that…? It was like… a completely dry pile of black coal…" answered the other.

Alibaba remembered the way Cassim had been when he died; Tettia took hold of his hand and squeezed it, telling the blond know that she was there for him. "…Hey, Aladdin… I wonder what this thing called the Dark Metal Vessel… really is…"

"I am curious, too," said Tettia.

"I will go investigate about that thing… in her homeland," said the young Magi.

* * *

"Damn Aladdin… does he _really_ intend to depart in three days on the same ship as Hakuryuu? He decides everything by himself… And Morgiana, too. Lately, she's been thinking about something… and Hakuryuu's been somewhat absentminded recently… And my _Djinn Equip_ training can't get much farther than the weapon transformation… Dammit! Why can't I do it!?" exclaimed Alibaba, slashing at the air. Tettia shrugged at her lover.

"Kyah!" screamed a female. It was Kougyoku. "Hey! That was _dangerous_!"

Tettia and her blond lover looked at the princess, and asked, "Kougyoku? Why're you here?"

Giggling, Kougyoku answered the two of them, "Heheheh… I came here to show you both something… BEHOLD!" she pulled out a flower-crown from her sleeves.

Alibaba took the crown and looked at it, Tettia observing the dark-pinkette's handiwork. "Wow," they both said, "It's made so well!"

"Heheheh… How's _that_!" laughed Kougyoku.

Laughing in response, Tettia replied, "You were _so_ unskilled at the beginning, Ko, and yet—"

"SHUT UP, TETTIA!" retorted the princess. "…Huh? Were you in the middle of training with your weapon, Alibaba?"

Alibaba nodded, "Ah, yes."

Reaching for her Metal Vessel, Kougyoku spoke, "I see… this is a good occasion. I've also been out of shape lately…" she equipped her Djinn's weapon, "Duel with me as fellow Metal Vessel users!"

"WHAAAAT!?" shouted the lovers, the half-Fanalis falling over in utter shock. "I can't do that! To duel against a princess…" said Alibaba.

"Mu? I can understand our mutual positions… but a light spare should be okay," Kougyoku answered.

From the ground, Tettia exclaimed, "Forget the fact that she's a fucking princess, Ali! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER ON! YOU'RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH YET! Ko! You can't fight him, you'd kill him!"

Not listening, Kougyoku spoke, "Spirit of Sorrow and Isolation… dwell in my body, Vinea!" Then the princess performed a full-body Djinn Equip. Her dark pink hair had become blue and fish-like scales covered her body, Tettia even noticed some gills. "Come on, Equip your Djinn as well!"

"KO!" shouted Tettia.

Tilting her head, the princess responded, "Hm? What is it, Tettia?" Kougyoku saw that the blond still had not fully equipped his Djinn and she was confused. "…What's wrong? Hurry up and do it," she said.

"He _can't do that_ , Ko," came Tettia's reply.

"Hah?" the Kou princess questioned, "What do you mean _he can't_ , Tettia?"

Getting up from the ground, Tettia said, "I mean what I said, Ko. Ali _can't perform_ a Full-Body Djinn Equip… yet."

The princess pouted, "Well, that's no fun."

"You're telling me," laughed Tettia.

"This is splendid," came Sinbad's voice.

At his voice, Kougyoku blushed. "Sinbad!"

Tettia ran at and attacked the king in a huge hug as he walked up to them. " _Sinny_!" she shouted as she hugged him.

"And _MOM_!" exclaimed Marina, popping up from behind Sinbad.

The Kou Empire's princess immediately disengaged her Full-Body Djinn Equip, still blushing, "No, I don't want you to see me with such _shameful_ clothing…"

Sinbad happily returned Tettia's hug before looking at the dark-pinkette. " _Hm?_ Are you quitting already? I thought that I could be useful if you were going to have a Djinn Equip contest," he said with a smiled directed at Kougyoku.

Alibaba gasped, "Whaaat!? You'll perform a Djinn Equip too, Sinbad!?"

Smiling at the blond, the king said, "I didn't show it to you still even in Balbadd, right, Alibaba? Now, I will show it to you here."

"That's… if you compare my techniques with yours… I'm sure you will be greatly disappointed…" muttered the princess.

" _Nonsense_! You haven't even put your skills up to the test yet, Princess," spoke Marina with a smile.

Also smiling, Sinbad agreed with the Atlantean queen. "Yes, it's just as Marina said. Put your skills to the test. Your power is magnificent. Please, show it to me."

"Y-Yes!" agreed Kougyoku with twinkling eyes.

* * *

(got lazy, not sorry 'bout it)

Sinbad and Kougyoku fought, intensely, and the king used another Djinn of his — Zepar — to win the duel. The then blue-haired princess fell from the sky, her Djinn Equip disengaging. "What happened to Ko?" asked Tettia.

"I told her mind to _sleep_. This is Zepar's power. But because it is a careless move, it also affects everyone around us a little…" said Sinbad.

The lovers looked around and _many_ people had been affected. "A… _a little_ …!?" asked the blond almost hysterically.

"I _always_ told Pervy _not to use_ that move, but that idiot goes and uses it anyways. Ever since you obtained it from Serendine you've done that, Sin," said Marina, looking blankly at the Sindrian King.

* * *

Kougyoku laid in her bed, still fast asleep. Alibaba, Tettia, Sinbad and Marina in the room as well. " _Djinn Equip_ … it's so terrifying… I can only perform a weapon equip… but I finally realized today that it's not enough," began the blond, "Could it be that I have no talent? Even a girl like _her_ can do it…"

" _NOPE! FUCK NO!_ You're _not_ going to _compare_ your skills to someone who's had their Djinn longer than you!" exclaimed Tettia, getting pretty defensive. She hated when Alibaba belittled his skills just because he was newer at having a Djinn than anybody else, minus Hakuryuu. That boy had grown up around siblings that wielded a Djinn, so he had previous experience in Tettia's eyes.

"I agree with Tet," answered Sinbad, "Although her talent is above average, you're no less. Remember, you learned weapon equipping only in a few days! There must be a reason why you aren't able to go any further."

Cocking his head to the side, Alibaba asked, " _A reason_ …?"

Marina nodded and spoke with a grin, "Yeah! For example… _'the quality of your Magoi changed'_ , or something like that!"

Sinbad continued, "When it happens, it becomes temporarily difficult to control your Magoi. It happened to Marina and myself in the past as well."

The blond answered, "Um… but I don't recall any specific reason…"

"It may not be something you _can_ recall, Ali," said Tettia, grabbing her lover's hand, "But, I know you'll get through it."

Sinbad looked at the blond, saying, "Alright, I'll find some spare time one way or another… and give you direct guidance on Djinn Equipping. How's that?"

Alibaba's honey orbs sparkled as he said, "R-really!?"

"Yeah!" answered the king with a big grin.

Tettia squealed excitedly, " _Yaaay!_ More time to spend with Sinny! I've _missed_ spending time with ya, Sinny."

The Sindrian king smiled at his former fake wife and said, "I've missed spending time with you, too, Tet. Now, Alibaba, I'm sure the day will come when we will fight Al-Thamen together. And when that time comes, make sure to lend me your strength. Same goes for you, too, Tet."

"Of course!" the lovers zealously answered.

* * *

Kougyoku finally woke up then Tettia and Alibaba recounted what happened. "Wow, so that's what happened this afternoon…" she said. Tettia nodded and the dark pinkette rubbed her eyes, "So, I fell asleep because of Sinbad's Djinn. I don't remember it well, but…"

Laughing, Tettia said, " _Haha_! You _really_ don't remember?!"

Shaking her head _no_ , Kougyoku asked, "What about Ka Koubun and the others?"

"They slept. They just woke up a little before you," the blond answered her. "But, in any case… Sinbad's Djinn Equip was _incredible_ , wasn't it, Tet?"

"Yeah! It really was, Ali!" gushed Tettia, sighing almost dreamily.

Pouting and turning away from them, Kougyoku asked, "What about mine?"

Both the lovers looked at her, "Huh?"

"You two saw my move, right?" she asked almost cutely.

"Eh? Ah, yes," they answered.

Tettia's crimson eyes twinkled as she gushed, "You were _amazing_ , Ko! So gorgeous, too! I loved your blue hair!" The princess blushed at the half-Fanalis's statement, then thanked her.

Alibaba said, too, "Of course! You were incredible, too… you were so cool!"

The princess laughed, "Heheh, right? _Hahh_ … that was really fun… this was the first time I went wild. With all my strength… without anything holding me back… I was able to do such a thing in this country…" she sighed, "I also feel so relieved. I hesitated, but now I've made up my mind."

Cocking her head to the side, Tettia's asked, "About what?"

"I… will go back to my own country. I will go back and will try to talk with Judar and my brother, Kouen. I will tell them that Sindrian is not our enemy," the princess said.

"Um… if your brother decides to fight against Sindria even after you tell him that… will you fight alongside him? That is… against Sinbad…" asked Alibaba.

Kougyoku stayed quiet for a bit. "… I… he was… my first love…"

At that confession, Alibaba gasped in surprise, "What?"

"I've loved him ever since the day I first met him… but I understand. A girl like me could never become a love interest to him. But, I love him nonetheless… I even followed him all the way here—"

"And accused him of sexually assaulting you, which sent me over the edge," interrupted Tettia.

Kougyoku nodded sadly as she continued, "I'm… really and idiot…" she clenched her covers tightly. The princess even started crying.

While Alibaba kind of was retreating, not knowing how to deal with a girl, Tettia placed a hand on top of one of Kougyoku's. "Hey, there's no reason to cry. You're not an idiot. Well, I mean, you were an idiot when you accused Sinny of sexually assaulting you in your sleep, but that's besides the point. Also, Ko, it's okay. Believe me, I understand how you are feeling right now. I practically fell in love with Alibaba when I first met him, too," she said, causing Alibaba to blush, "And, honestly, I was surprised that Sinny even grew even the slightest bit of romantic feelings for me while we were fake married. I'm even surprised that Ali picked me over Morgiana; it's obvious she likes him, too. So, please don't be sa—"

"Wait a second! Morgiana likes me?!" Alibaba asked.

"Yes, I thought you knew that, Alibaba?" answered Tettia.

The blond shook his head, "No. I didn't know that. Also, why would I pick her over you? She literally tried to kill us when we first met!"

"Because… she's a _purebred_ Fanalis… she's stronger than me, physically and probably mentally, too," answered the half-Fanalis quietly.

Alibaba leaned over and kissed her forehead, "That's nonsense. You and me have something between us that has been obvious since we met, Tet. Morgiana is just a really good friend. Plus, I could never have seen myself with her."

Blushing, Tettia stuttered, "A-anyways!" she turned her gaze back at Kougyoku, "Don't be sad or upset, Ko. Ali, give her a tissue."

Alibaba gave Kougyoku a tissue. She smiled at the duo and said, "Thank you, but I'm alright now. I had a lot of fun here. I was able to forget about myself and be with the person I love… but it's time for this to end." The lovers got up to leave, but stopped them, "Um… could you two stay here and listen to me…?"

"Yeah, of course, Ko," answered Tettia, sitting on the princess's bed.

"I wasn't born in the Royal Palace. My _father_ is the _Emperor_ , but my mother was… a _prostitute_ ," she began, "Unlike my other brothers and sisters, I'm a lowborn… I was in a delicate position… even in the Royal Palace, where I was set aside, I felt out of place." Alibaba gasped and Tettia held his hand, Kougyoku's situation was very similar to his own. "But at that time, the only ones to acknowledge me as a king vessel and gave me the position of a warrior were Judar and my brother, Kouen… at that time, I thought… that that was the way I had to live my life! I was born in order to become a warrior wielding power and fighting for the Kou Empire's sake. But… even so," she reached for her Metal Vessel, "the war between the Kou Empire and Sindria is wrong. That's why… I will not use the power even if I return to my country!"

"Good for you, Ko," clapped Tettia. The princess smiled at the half-Fanalis. "Why did I ever hate you? You're pretty okay, Ko."

Kougyoku shrugged, but Alibaba said, "Because of her crush on Sinbad."

"RIGHT!"

* * *

Alibaba had explained his position of having been the prince of Balbadd to the princess. "Really…!? So your mother was…?"

"Yes, she was a prostitute from the Slums. Because of that, even after I came to the Royal Palace, they still said bad things about me. One way or another," said the blonde.

Laugung, Tettia slapped her lover's back, "Now look at ya! Master of a Djinn and having a killer lover!"

Leaning on her, Alibaba said, with a chuckle, "Yeah."

Kokugyoku laughed, "Heheheh, we are the some then, Alibaba."

"Yeah," he answered, still leaning his head on Tettia's.

"In that case… you will be my friend," the dark pinkette said. More like demanded.

"What about me, Ko?!"

"You, too, Tettia!"

"Huh?" questioned Alibaba. "What is happening?"

Kougyoku said, "I didn't have any friends up with until now. But in your case, Alibaba, I'm sure we can be friends. Since we are the same… am I wrong? And Tettia… I'm sure we can be friends because you seem to have a big heart, and seem very friendly and forgiving… seeing as you went from disliking me and calling me _Brattyoku_ to calling me _Ko_."

"Ah, yeah," Alibaba said.

"Aye!" exclaimed Tettia.

"Pleased to meet you, we guess," spoke the lovers, rubbing the back of their heads.

Kougyoku pouted and then hit the lovers on the head, which caused them to yelp in pain. "Hey!? You two shouldn't be so formal with a _'friend'_ , right!?"

"Ah, we see!" they said. Alibaba held out a hand, "Let's be friends, Kougyoku!" he exclaimed. The princess took his hand and nodded, Tettia shouted excitedly and attacked the dark-pinkette with a hug, "Yay! A new friend!"

* * *

The time had come for Kougyoku's leave, Tettia and Alibaba sent her off as if they were all three exceptionally close. "Hopefully Ali and I can come visit you, Ko, or maybe you can come back here to visit us?" spoke Tettia with a grin.

"I hope so, too, Tettia," answered Kougyoku.

"What the actual fuck? When did Tet and Babwa become friends with Brattyoku?" asked Tora, throughly confused.

The Atlantean queen shrugged as she answered, "Dunno, Tor."

After the princess had left, Alibaba still did not talk to or even look at Aladdin and the others. Since she loved them so much and could not bring herself to ignore the young Magi, Tettia talked to and laughed with them for a few moments. Alibaba stood off, away from his lover and their friends, when he coughed, it was Tettia's signal to leave. "O-oh… well, looks like I have to go now, Laddin. Ali was going to take me out to eat… surprisingly," laughed Tettia as she waved to her friends, walking off to be with Alibaba.

* * *

The day after Kougyoku left, Aladdin, Morgiana and Hakuryuu were destined to leave. Everyone came to see them off, Yamraiha giving Aladdin an orb in which to keep in contact with Sindria. The only people who had not come to see them off were Alibaba and Tettia. Now, Aladdin could understand why his blond best friend would not come see him off, but it puzzled him that Tettia had not been there. Surely she had not forgotten that they were leaving today? Surely she wanted to see Aladdin off, and give him one last hug before he left — because neither of them knew when they were going to see each other again. The blue-haired Magi sighed almost sadly, he really did want his half-Fanalis best friend to be there: he just wanted to see her period. One last time before he left for the Magic Academy, but apparently Tettia had not felt the same way.

Once they were on the ship, they all felt terrible that the lovers could not have been there with them. In fact, it felt like a little part of the group was missing with the blond and half-Fanalis. Walking up to Aladdin, Morgiana said to the disheartened Magi, "It's alright, Aladdin. We will talk with them later and straighten things out…"

Gripping onto his staff, Aladdin answered, "Right. It's not like we will never see each other again. I'm sure that… the Rukh will guide us and bring us together again! Even if it makes years…"

Hakuryuu and Morgiana smiled at their young friend's optimism, "Yes…"

Unbeknownst to the trio, the lovers were hiding around the corner and spying on them. "The fuck it will take years…" grumbled Tettia.

"Agreed," whispered Alibaba.

"Again, after we all go our separate ways… at least I'll have you," whispered Tettia as she leaned over and kissed the blond's cheek.


	32. Fucking Pirates

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Pirates**

 **A/N: Welp then, here it is! I got kinda lazy, to be honest, so I apologize. I just kinda wanna zip through the Pirates Arc and get to the World Exploration Arc, because that's when shit is going to be fun for me. Also, just a heads up for the World Exploration Arc: it will only cover the Nights that are dedicated to Alibaba, as Tettia will be with him and this story does focus on her soooo… yeah, heads up. Therefore, the time spent on the World Exploration Arc will retrospectively be short (maybe one chapter that is REALLY long because I'll probably add more original content in that chapter to flush it out).**

* * *

Tettia and Alibaba below the ship's deck, waiting for Aladdin, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu to retreat to their room for the night. The lovers had missed their chance to tell the trio they would be accompanying them, to go on their own journey. Alibaba had decided to go to the Reim Empire, and Tettia had decided to go with her blond lover in order to keep him out of trouble. The half-Fanalis had wanted to tell her young bluenette best friend the news, but Alibaba's awkwardness around the trio put a halt on her plan. "Ya know, Ali, this is an excellent chance to mend things with them," whispered Tettia, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," answered the blond, leaning his head on hers.

Noises could be heard from the room next door. Both Alibaba and Tettia rushed to the wall, putting their ears against it. "Wow, what a fantastic room!" came Aladdin's voice from the room, "I'll sleep on this hammock!"

Next came Morgiana's voice, "There are three here, so the three of us can sleep here."

 _We went… into the wrong room!_ the lovers thought to themselves. "What should we do?" the blond asked his lover, "Should we go to the other room?" They took a moment and listened to the laughter. "It seems like they're having fun, Ali," answered Tettia. "No. If we wait just a bit longer… I'm sure they'll say something…" said Alibaba, "In any case, I'm sure they'll feel lonely soon!"

They heard Hakuryuu gasp, "Ehhh!? I have to sleep in the same room as a girl!? I cannot do that! To sleep near Lady Morgiana…"

Aladdin could be heard saying, "Isn't it alright, Mor?"

"Yeah, I don't really mind," answered the purebred.

The half-Fanalis smirked and said to herself, "Oh, little Haku's got it bad for Mor! HakuMor will happen!" Then she giggled almost silently to herself.

"What are you giggling about, Tet," whispered Alibaba.

Smiling, Tettia ever-quietly giggled as she covered her mouth, "H-haku likes Morg!"

Alibaba's eyes buldged out a little. "What!? How do you know, Tet?" whisper-yelled the blond.

"By the way he talks to her. The way he talks about her," she answered.

As the lovers talked quietly back and forth, it grew quiet next door. The giggling and laughter of their friends had died down and Aladdin was the first to speak, "Don't you… feel like… something's missing here?"

"Yes, I've felt the same too, ever since a little while ago…" said Morgiana.

Both Alibaba and Tettia's eyes widened. _Yes! They noticed_ , thought Tettia. Hakuryuu gasped, "It is, Al…! An all-inclusive breakfast! I prepared it here! Go ahead!"

 _They… totally forgot about us…?_ the lovers thought, crestfallen.

"Ah… but… now that I remember, what do you honestly think about _those people_?" asked the navy-haired prince.

" _Those people_? Who?" Aladdin asked curiously.

Hakuryuu hummed for a moment, then said, "I'm talking about… Sir Alibaba and Lady Tettia!"

The lovers gasped excitedly. "Ahh… Alibaba… Tet… right…" said Aladdin in an indifferent way. Like he did not want to talk or even think about his two best friends.

"You honestly like them a lot, right, Mister Aladdin?" pressed the Kou Empire prince.

Aladdin hummed in thought. "I wonder… _well_ … they were _just the first people_ I met when I first came into this world, _so_ … it's not really like that," the young Magi finally said. That shot the lovers through the heart; were the three not best friends? Tettia felt almost crushed, she loved Aladdin like a younger brother and know she knew the _**"truth"**_. "But… after re-thinking about the long time we spent together… there are a lot of things I noticed about Alibaba… Tet is like a sister to me, so I can overlook her flaws…"

The heterochromic Prince asked, "For example with Alibaba?"

"Yeah… Alibaba, he… how can I say it… he's not popular with the ladies. Other than Tet. It just so happened that, one day when we went to a pleasure house without Tet, he looked at me with eyes full of greed. When I was getting along with some beautiful girl… he seemed resentful… and was eating his finger…" explained the young blue-haired Magi.

The imperial prince sighed in disgust, "Whaaaat… that's not… something that someone popular would do."

"Now that I remember, I've seen Tettia behave in a strange manner. She was very rude to me one day, when we were in Balbadd, and all I was trying to do was help. I was trying to tend to her and Alibaba's wounds but Tettia was so snappy with me. And demanded me to leave. She would not even open up the door," recalled Morgiana.

"I-I just didn't want her to see you in that compromising position, Ali," muttered a hurt Tettia.

"I will _not_ forgive her," yelled Hakuryuu, "Only _the worst, most villainous_ bastard would do such a thing to Lady Morgiana!"

Tettia and Alibaba slumped to the floor, crying and holding onto each other as moral support. They were babbling about how their actions were being blown out of proportion and that they did not mean to seem rude to their friends. Their friends _seemingly_ hated them. The trio of _badmouthers_ peeked into the room, Aladdin and Hakuryuu smiling knowing, almost creepy smiles/expressions, Morgiana's face her usual stoic expression.

"They were so mean to us, Ali," whined Tettia, nuzzling against Alibaba.

Alibaba sobbed and nuzzled his face into her hair, "I knoooow!"

The half-Fanalis continued crying, "I thought Laddin truly loved me like a sister! But I guess noooooot!"

* * *

Aladdin patted Tettia's shoulder, both she and Alibaba still were upset and crying a little. "P-please forgive us… you're both just a bit shocked…" their young best friend tried soothing the lovers, "the truth is that Sinbad told us that you two would come…"

The lovers still held a depressed aura. "Yes, it was only a light joke," spoke the navy-haired prince.

Tettia launched herself at Morgiana. "Morg! I'm sorry for snapping at you in Balbadd," she cried, "I was only trying to protect your innocent eyes from seeing Alibaba in a compromising position!" Meanwhile, as she sobbed at to the younger Fanalis, her blond lover slumped over, still defeated.

"A-Alibaba! T-Tet! Get a hold of yourselves," exclaimed Aladdin.

Hakuryuu nodded and voiced, "He's right, Sir Alibaba! Lady Tettia!" Taking a moment to look at the still crying blond, the imperial navy-haired prince snickered, covering his mouth, "You're crying too much too much to be a _real man_ , Sir Alibaba."

Both Alibaba and Tettia jerked their heads towards their princely friend. "You're the _ONLY ONE_ who can't say that, you crybaby bastard!" shouted the blond. Hakuryuu and Alibaba almost got into a scuff, had Aladdin not stopped them.

Tettia looked back at Morgiana and asked in a soft voice, "Do you forgive me, Morg?"

"Yes, I forgive you. I should thank you for saving my eyes from that unsightly position Alibaba was in," answered the younger Fanalis, smiling gently at the older half-breed.

"Anyway," said the Magi, "why did you two board our ship? Only magicians can enter Magnostadt."

The blond seemed annoyed at his best friend's question. His tone also displayed annoyance as he said, " _Tsk,_ don't get us wrong. It's not like we came here to follow you."

Hakuryuu had his mouth open, as if to say something, but Tettia swiftly put a stop to that, "Before you say _shit_ , Haku, _no_. We did _not_ just board the ship because we would've felt lonely without you three. Why don't you tell them why we boarded, Ali?"

"Yeah! Don't underestimate me, Hakuryuu! I came in order to train!" the blond snapped at Hakuryuu.

"Train!?" the trio exclaimed.

Snickering, Alibaba said, "Yeah. I didn't come here in order to keep you company, and neither did Tet… I will…" he grew serious, "become a gladiator… in the Reim Empire…"

The trio gasped, "A-a _gladiator_!?" Aladdin went on to ask, "Why would you do such a thing…!?"

" _Tsk_ , I don't feel like telling you…" Alibaba said, acting coldly towards his friends, going so far as to turn his back on Aladdin. "Come on, tell us!" whined Aladdin. "Please tell us, Master Alibaba!" urged Hakuryuu. "C'mon, Ali, just tell them," said Tettia. Looking over his shoulder, Alibaba said, "… Do you _really_ want to hear about it?" Aladdin and Hakuryuu nodded, saying, "Yeah! Yeah!" Sighing, Alibaba decided to tell them, "Well… it's something… Sinbad told me during my _training_."

"Oh, it was fun! Ali got pretty annoyed when I was hanging on Sinny while he was training. It was fun," laughed Tettia. Alibaba shushed his lover as he continued his story.

* * *

"Th… the _Village of Magoi Manipulation_ …!?" exclaimed the young Magi, "What… is that place…!?"

"Heh, even you Aladdin, don't you know about that place?" asked Alibaba snickered. As Aladdin nodded, the blond continued, "I expected that… that _Village of Magoi Manipulation_ is…"

Hakuryuu jumped in, "An Eastern village where the race of the _Yanabara_ live. They are a clan of people that specializes in manipulation Magoi. There was a period when they passed through the Kou Empire… on that occasion, I received some of their teachings, too." Everyone gathered around the imperial prince as he continued, "But the Yanabara are a nomadic race. They move their houses from place to place, and no one knows where their village is located…"

"No one knows?" asked Aladdin.

Alibaba smirked and slid back into the conversation, "Yeah, but… there is a place where you can meet the Yanabara for sure, even if you don't go to their village."

"Where…!?" questioned Aladdin.

Smirking yet again, Alibaba began, "Well, that's…"

"That's Reim's Coliseum! The Yanabara are scattered around the world in order to become warriors. And you can meet them, for sure, in the biggest arena in the world: Reim's Coliseum! That's right. In that place, you can even train your skills with the sword," explained Hakuryuu.

Aladdin and Morgiana looked surprised. "Incredible… I see…" said the blue-haired Magi. Alibaba was dejected and was throwing small bricks onto the floor, making a clunk noise. "A-Alibaba, what's next?"

"Well, that's it," answered the blond.

The young Magi cocked his head to the side, "That's it?"

"HE SAID IT ALL!" yelled Alibaba.

Tettia laughed and said, "Dammit, Haku! You just _had_ to ruin his moment, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry," apologized Hakuryuu.

Aladdin then looked at his sister. "Now, why are you going, Tet?"

She sighed as she answered, "One, Ali's my lover, two, he's hopeless by himself, and three, we _all know_ that he'll end up getting robbed if I don't go with him. So, _yeah_ , I'm going with him. Maybe I could even get better with my Household Vessel?" Aladdin nodded in agreement, wishing his best friend can get better with her Household Vessel.

* * *

"We'll be arriving soon~!" exclaimed Aladdin, looking out at the open sea.

Tettia laughed, combing some of her hair out of her face, "Whoopie!"

The captain spoke, "We could only arrive here safe and sound because you drove away the creatures of the Southern Sea."

"Captain!" exclaimed Aladdin and Tettia, turning their heads to look at him.

Hakuryuu looked over at Alibaba, saying, "Sir Alibaba finished most of them."

"Aww, I got a little carried away before I knew it," the blond said, rubbing the back of his neck. He then struck a _ridiculous_ pose, continuing, "I'm not popular… that's why I thought I should show you the good things about me!"

"Could it be that he holds a grudge against us?" Hakuryuu asked.

Tettia rolled her eyes and elbowed her blond lover in the gut. "Shut up, Alibaba Saluja! You know they were _fucking_ joking!"

Taking his spear into his hands, Hakuryuu continued, "But, I cannot leave everything to Sir Alibaba. Next time, I will fight as well."

"Are you sure you can do that?" said the blond in a condescending way.

Tettia, immediately, yanked Alibaba by his necklace. "ALIBABA! Excuse you!" she shouted. Turning her head, noticing that Morgiana was being too quiet, she asked the purebred Fanalis, "What's up, Morg?"

Morgiana was staring intensely in the distance and said, "Nothing… it's just that the situation at the port seems strange…"

"Are you able to see _that_ from _this_ distance?" asked Aladdin.

"Course she can, Laddin! She's a purebred Fanalis!" answered Tettia.

Squinting her eyes, Morgiana said, "Is that… _fire_?"

" _Incredible_. You have good eyes, lady…" come a disembodied young boy's voice from the ocean. Soon, an air bubble (?) surfaced from the ocean: a young boy standing inside of said bubble. The boy appeared to be about Aladdin's age and half of his head was missing hair, his eyes held a distain for those below him.

The lovers gasped, "Wh-what's that…?" Turning her head, Tettia spoke to Aladdin, "He's fucking _FLOATING_! Laddin…!?"

"Yeah… he's flying… _magic_?" answered the young Magi. Everyone was ready for a battle that may or may not happen.

The young boy looked over his shoulder. His eyes went straight to a child, who was hanging on his shoulder as he said, "Hey, wait a minute, okay? I'll be finished in a moment." Then, he casted his gaze down at the ship. "Hey you… this is a good ship. I'm sure it's loaded with good stuff. Give everything to me," he demanded with serious eyes.

"What the _FUCK_ are you talking about, KID? Just who do you think you are," sneered Tettia at the boy.

"Me?" he asked, raising his right hand (which was a hook), " _We_ …" suddenly ships popped up from the ocean in the same bubbles as the boy, "are _pirates_!" Then the pirates boarded the ship. "Here we come!" screamed the terrifyingly masked pirates.

Tettia groaned loudly and rolled her neck, cracking it, "Are you _FUCKING_ kidding me!? Fucking _pirates_!? SERIOUSLY?!"

The captain gasped, "That's… Umm Madaura's ships… why are _they_ here?"

Whipping her head to look at the captain, Tettia's crimson orbs held a wild, angry look. Eyes bright with the fire of hatred. " _Excuse me…_? Did you just say _Umm Madaura_?" she asked, her voice dropping a few tones.

"Yes," answered the captain. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pirate with a gun was standing beside the old captain. The pirate was about to pull the trigger, but Tettia savagely slit the pirates throat. Then, the five friends gathered around the captain, determined to keep him alive. "Y-you guys…!"

The five then started to fight the onslaught of pirates; Tettia was fighting the hardest, even defending her friends against pincher attacks. She was constantly and remorselessly cutting down the enemy pirates, berating them for being pirates. Saying that if they could be cut down so easily by a woman, they were worthless as pirates. The pirates started calling out to the young boy. "Olba! Olba, please!"

"You're pathetic… and you call yourselves children of Umm Madaura?" sneered the young Olba.

Gnashing her teeth, Tettia yelled at the pirates, "You're nothing but a _bullshit punk_ , Olba! You worthless rats serve the _WHORE_ that _MURDERED_ my fucking parents! I'm going to watch her die before me! She will crumble before me as I end her _miserable, worthless fucking life_!"

Olba bared his teeth at Tettia as he caught the five friends in a bubble. He, then dropped them into the ocean, Morgiana tried to bring them all back to the boat, but to no avail. Then, someone's Djinn was activated as the friends sunk into the ocean. It was Hakuryuu's Djinn, Zagan; he saved them all. "Y-your arm is…!?" exclaimed Alibaba in disbelief as he pointed.

"I told you earlier, right? This time, it is my turn to fight," said the prince with a smile, but serious tone.

"Oh… okay. That's fucking hot," blurted Tettia, but luckily only Morgiana had heard her.

Hakuryuu's arm seemingly grew and was like it was alive. "This is Zagan's ability," he said, "the power of plants is awakened through the Metal Vessel's touch."

"And here I thought I could never find you as attractive as Ali, Haku. Someone just proved myself wrong," said Tettia. This time, everyone heard her and Alibaba possessively wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

After that, Hakuryuu fought and he was kicking major ass. Just before he could finish things, however, Olba took a blade to the captain's throat. "Hold it _RIGHT THERE_!" he shouted, "Try _anything_ else and you'll see this guy's head fly off."

"Captain!" shouted Aladdin and Tettia. The half-Fanalis's grip on her daggers tightened exponentially. She wanted to rip those guy's heads off, of course after torturing the information of where Umm Madaura was out of them. The sheer unbridled hatred that had been set ablaze in her body was beginning to slightly effect her in a negative way.

"That's right. Just be good and let us have the cargo…" said Olba. Reluctantly, everyone gathered the cargo and gave it to the pirates. With their loot, they disappeared under the waves, just as fast as they had come. "See ya!" Olba's voice rang throughout the sky.

Watching them descend into the waves, Tettia, Aladdin and Alibaba looked over the side of their boat. "I'm going to fucking kill them next time," she growled, gnashing her teeth again.

"Those bastards. They escaped into the sea…" said the blond.

* * *

Shortly after the ship was robbed, the Akita Kingdom's navy found the ship and brought it back to the port. Everyone got off their Sindrian ship and saw the terrible conditions. "Th-that is awful… it's a mess…" said Alibaba.

"This is strange… Akita's port is supposed to be protected by this country's powerful navy… how did this happen?" asked the Sindrian captain.

"The _Great Holy Mother_ did this," said some approaching soldiers, "We are from the navy. You are from the Sindrian trade ship we met earlier, right?"

Aladdin looked at the commander and asked, "Commander, who is the _Great Holy Mother_?"

"They are a pirate crew from the West," answered the commander, "they are a frenzied bunch who pillage cities by making use of their magic tools…"

The ship captain looked confused, "But why have they appeared in this area of the ocean? A pirate crew shouldn't be able to stretch their reach into the heavily-protected sea of Akita, right?"

"You are right," answered the commander, "but, in recent years, we've had to send our soldiers toward the Northern border… so we are short of hands protecting the sea."

Tettia, Aladdin and the ship captain asked, "Northern border?"

The soldier nodded and answered, "Yes… toward Magnostadt's defensive battle line." Tettia immediately choked on her own spit, being sent into a coughing fit, she asked a hysteric _'what'_. "After the destruction of the Mustashim Royalty, they began to step into the adjacent countries… Magnostadt is an ominous country that is perpetrating something we are unable to understand…"

"Laddin!?" exclaimed a still coughing Tettia. He just looked at the ground with hard eyes, his mind still made up. That was when footsteps and agitated grumbles could be heard. "What's wrong?" Tettia, Aladdin and Alibaba asked, looking up.

"Good grief, again…" sighed the commander. The older soldiers sighed in disgust and annoyance.

Quickly, Tettia snapped her gazed towards them. They were about to feel her unbridled wrath. She was utterly disgusted by the soldiers actions. Tettia swiftly punched them in the back of each one of their heads. "Fucking _excuse_ you three!? You call yourselves members of the fucking _**NAVY**_!? I don't think so! Listen here, you pricks! YOU HAVE A DUTY TO LISTEN TO THESE FUCKING PEOPLE! They look up to pathetic men like you three to protect them and their families! Now! Start taking your jobs seriously! Or I will personally remove you from your positions by force!" she reprimanded the three, kicking them towards the people. "Now, I don't give a fuck if they've asked you hundred fucking times, non-stop about something! LISTEN TO THEM!" The soldiers wanted to snap at the half-Fanalis, but the fiery hatred in her eyes caused them to let it slid. The people then started asking the soldiers to bring back their children. "Children? What are they talking about?" the three best friends asked.

"Well… Umm Madaura's pirates kidnap children every time they come to the city. And we don't know why they do that. The children they take are basically from the Slums. We don't know what they intend to do with those children…" answered the commander.

That had Tettia growing even angrier, the fire of hatred burned ten times brighter. "I'm going to kill that rancid bitch with my own two hands! I will choke the life from her body! I will revel in watching the life drain from her hideous eyes! I will string her corpse up and wave it as a flag of motherfucking FREEDOM after I kill her!" sneered Tettia, seriously.

"It's okay, Tet," said Aladdin, trying to calm down his obviously highly agitated sister.

"There's no way to help those children!?" exclaimed Alibaba. Tettia growled and lunged at one of the soldiers, with intent to kill, but was caught by her waist by Alibaba. "Why the fuck not!?" she growled dangerously.

The commander sighed, "Well… their pirate ship is able to go underwater, so… even if we are Akita's navy, it's impossible for us to pursue them… much less capture their hideout."

"What do they think I'm here for!? To fucking look pretty?!" hissed Tettia.

Alibaba rubbed her shoulders, trying to calm her down. "So, it's because of that strange magic tool, huh…"

"No shit, you fucking genius," snapped the blond's lover.

The blond kissed her forehead. "Don't be rude to me, Tet. Anywah, Aladdin, do you have an idea on how to solve this? Something like… a magic that helps us breathe underwater!? Ah, what about a magic that transforms us into fish!?" spoke Alibaba.

The intense anger in Tettia was quelled as she thought about a fish with Alibaba's face. She laughed heartily. As Aladdin answered her lover, Hakuryui said, "Sir Alibaba… there is no need to trouble Master Aladdin… I already have a plan."

"What?" Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana asked. "You do, Haku? Welp then, fuck me running! What is it, boy?!" exclaimed Tettia.

"Awaken Zagan!" exclaimed Hakuryuu. A little plant poked out of the ground and nuzzled itself against the prince's cheek.

Everyone stumbled backwards except Tettia, who instead opted to poke the cute little plant. "What's this, Haku?" she calmly asked.

"It's and ordinary netsumegusa root," answered the imperial prince.

Alibaba said, "Netsumegusa? You mean that herb of the pea plant with the ridiculously long roots? The kind often used as fragrant herbs…"

The prince nodded. "That's right, I brought it's special characteristics to the limit, thanks to Zagan. I planted a seed of this herb in the cargo they stole. So in other words, if we follow this root, we will arrive at their hideout," he said.

"R-really!?" exclaimed Alibaba.

"That's incredible!" exclaimed Aladdin.

Tettia hugged the imperial prince, exclaiming, "Haku, you're a fucking genius!"

Alibaba looked at Hakuryuu and said, "Incredible… so you can manipulate plants as much as you like?" He then went on to say under his breath, "Zagan is frightening…"

"No…" answered the imperial prince. He took hold of his spear and continued, "This is a combination move… obtained by Zagan's power and my Magoi manipulation ability. Zagan can only manipulate the plants that are in contact with my Metal Vessel… and then I send Zagan's magic inside the plant's seed, thanks to my Magoi manipulation ability… by doing that, I'm able to manipulate the plant as long as the Magoi I sent inside doesn't run out."

"Wow~~~" the four of his friends gasped in awe.

Turning to the soldiers, Hakuryuu said, "We know where their hideout is now. Let's go save those children immediately!"

"Yeah… but… since we don't know the abilities of our enemies… I cannot send the battleships which the king entrusted to me," said the commander. The people of the Slums then claimed that the soldiers did not care about their children because they were from the Slums. However, had the noble's children been taken, the soldiers would have bent over backwards for them. The soldiers got agitated and Tettia had enough of it.

"You fucking cowards! You don't give a gotdamn about these people! Get the fuck back on that fucking ship of ours… and RUN! Run like the pussies you are! I, and my friends, will deal with these filthy pirate fucks!" the seething half-Fanalis threw the soldiers onto their ship. "NOW FUCKING SCRAM! You worthless, pathetic maggots!"

Alibaba laughed at his lover and said, "Hey, everyone… are you in a hurry for your journey?"

"No…" answered Morgiana, shaking her head.

"Me neither," answered Aladdin.

Hakuryuu sighed, "I already know what you are going to say…"

Tettia smiled and said, "Yeah… well, we can't just sit here and do nothing like those worthless pansies."

As the blond approached the people, Aladdin looked at his half-Fanalis best friend. Ever since she was told by the Sindrian ship captain that the pirates were using Umm Madaura's ships, it had set off something inside of her. The young Magi did not like that her overwhelming hatred for Umm Madaura was slowly consuming her. "Hey, Tet… umm, are you okay? Ever since those pirates showed up, you've been acting strange. You're not as happy as you usually are, in fact, you seem very angry. Hateful, almost," the young boy asked his closest best friend.

"Hm?" hummed Tettia. _Shit? Did he notice?_ she thought. "No… nothing is _wrong_ , particularly. Well, if I was acting very hateful, it would only be because I want revenge for my parents' murder. That's all," she answered.

"Tet… I don't want to see you fall into depravity for revenge. That's not who you are," answered the Magi.

Tettia's eyes softened. _Laddin's right… I'm better than this. If I fall… I wouldn't be able to see my mom and dad when I die_. "You're right, Laddin… revenge isn't worth it… but I'm still going to hate that bitch and I do still want to kill her."

"Alright!" called Alibaba, "Team Zagan, let's kick some ass one last time before we part!"

Aladdin and Tettia punched the air, yelling, "Yeah!"

* * *

The five of them arrived at the pirates' hideout and stormed the place. They were met with an army of Umm Madaura's goons. Olba leading them. The five were attacked with magic tools and then the pirates retreated into caverns. Before they retreated, Tettia could have sworn she saw Tora. "Tora!? What the fuck are you doing here?!" asked the redhead.

The purplenette took off her mask and faced the redhead. "D-did you say _Tora_ , young lady?" she asked, taking a few steps towards Tettia.

"Yes… I did. I thought you were her, but… I was mistaken. I saw your purple hair and I blurted out the first name of the person I know with that hair," answered Tettia. Taking a minute to take in the appearance of the purplenette in front of her, she gasped, "But my GOD do you look scarily like her!"

The woman was almost moved to tears as she said, "T-that's because I'm Tora's _mother_! I'm Diane!"

Tettia's jaw dropped, as did her lover and young best friend. "Y-You're Tora's… m-m-m…mother?!" she exclaimed.

"Yes! O-oh my god! I thought my baby died the night we were taken from our home!" cried Diane.

"N-no! She was saved by a man named Sinbad, Miss Diane! She's married now and I'm one of her best friends. My name is Tettia, but you can call me Tet," said Tettia, extending her hand out in friendship. "Do you want to join us so you can see her again?"

"DIANE! Stop talking to the enemy and come on! Or else I'll tell Umm Madaura!" yelled Olba.

Diane glared at the young Olba. "Fuck off, you brat! I'm sick and tired of being that wench's slave!" she exclaimed, throwing something at the child. That caused them to fully retreat into the caverns. Morgiana followed the pirates in the caverns, defeated them all, and dragged them all out to be tied up. Everyone praised Morgiana on a job well-done. "Wow, good job, young lady," Diane said.

"That's the power of a Fanalis, ma'am. I'm also a Fanalis, but I am a half-breed. Tora is also married to a purebred Fanalis like little Morgiana here," said Tettia with a smile. "Now, where is this whore? I'm ready to kill her and be done with this!"

Tora's mother looked at Tettia with wide eyes, "What did she do to you?"

"About three to four years ago, she ordered the murder of Sotiria and Cole — a Fanalis female and a former Sasan knight," began Tettia. Diane nodded, saying how she remembered being forced to set the house on fire. "Yeah, well, those were my parents and unborn baby brother. My mom was pregnant. So, I want to see Madaura crumble before me! I want to watch her burn like I watched my home and parents go up in flames."

"I-I… I'm so sorry about that, Tettia… I was nothing more than a slave… I could not refuse without being killed," answered the older purplenette.

"I don't blame you, Miss Diane. I blame the cunt who ordered their death. Death shall come of dull, swift wings to that whore responsible for the murder of them," retorted Tettia.

Alibaba looked over at Tettia. "I'm glad we found Tora's long-lost mother. That's one good thing to come out of this terrible situation."

"Agreed, Ali," said Tettia, leaning over to briefly kiss him on the lips.


	33. What The Heck

**Chapter Thirty-Three: The Heck is Going on Here!?**

 **A/N: Alright, I'm literally in no mood for this arc, so if it's all the same to you all, I'm really going to sped through it. I just… I don't personally like this arc because I do have such a deep-rooted hatred for Umm Madaura and I find it detestable that she has always manipulated CHILDREN! Sooo, I just was to see the bitch die.**

* * *

With the help of Diane's water magic, the six of them were able to break into Umm Madaura fortress. As soon as they had broken in, thanks to Alibaba busting a hole in the hull, Aladdin and Tettia were more concerned for Morgiana. "Are you alright, Mor!?" they asked, the older half-Fanalis rubbing the purebred's back.

Heavily coughing, the young Fanalis answered, almost weakly, "Yes…!"

"Oh, I'm so fucking glad you're okay! I'll teach you how to swim at some point, okay, Morg?" said Tettia, who was still running her back.

Morgiana looked at the older half-Fanalis. "I would appriecate that, Tettia," she answered.

"Then I will," smiled Tettia.

"I must warn you children, Umm Madaura will try and make you her children as well. She has a magical tool that will allows her to do this," Diane warned.

Tettia looked at the older purplenette with a fire in her eyes. "Even if she does do that, I'll still cut her down. I don't care if she takes the appearance of my mother in my mind's eye, I will cut her down. She will never be my mother nor will I fall for such bullshit magic," she said.

"I like you, Tettia," Diane spoke with a chuckle.

The half-Fanalis smiled, "So does your daughter. Now, let's get moving!"

Alibaba nodded; the six of them started to move towards Umm Madaura. To their shock, the whole fortress was full of children. Tettia was beyond disgusted and it fueled her hatred for the wench who murdered her parents that much more. Hakuryuu, Alibaba and Tettia knocked the swords out of the children's hands as they ran past them. "It's full of fucking children! What the hell is going on here!? What's the leader of this group thinking?" yelled Alibaba in confusion.

"She's thinking that since they're children, they won't be reprimanded and thrown in prison if caught," said Diane in a small voice.

Having heard Diane, a new rage boiled in Tettia's blood. "Oh! That bitch!" hissed Tettia, "How dare she use children like that! I want to slit her throats and watch her choke on her own blood!"

Aladdin touched Tettia's arm, looking at her with big, pleading eyes. _Don't fall_ , those eyes said to her. "Let's hurry," he said aloud for everyone to hear.

"Aye," said Tettia. Everyone started to run down the hallway. As they ran down the hallway, the were unaware of the dagger-wielding child lurking in the shadows. Once the dice were close enough, the child lunged at Alibaba; their eyes held such malice and hatred it caused the lovers to recoil in shock. Instictively, Tettia immediately disarmed the young child, throwing the knife to Diane. The blond's heart sank as he looked at the child, in absolute shock. "E-even a little child like this…" he muttered.

Diane looked down at the child, who was once her ally. "Yes…" she sadly answered, "even a child as young as her."

Tettia growled in even more anger. "Disgusting…"

From the shadows, even more children seemingly materialized. All of them wielding dangerous weapons such as swords and daggers. "W-we have to protect mother…" they all said.

Her crimson eyes widening, Tettia said in a breathless way, "I-I… can't disarm that many kids…"

"I'm sorry you five had to get involved with this mess," apologized Diane.

"No, no, it's fine. We came here to free the children and take them back to their true parents. And I'm not leaving here without those kids. Plus, we found you, Miss Diane. Tor's going to be so happy when you get back to Sindria," said Tettia with a smile. Diane smiled back. However, the time for smiles was short-lived as the children swarmed the six of them. Alibaba was about to be stabbed, but Tettia jumped in front of him, stopping the dagger with her bare hands. "Nuh-uh! I don't think so, child! Stop this!" she exclaimed, gritting her teeth to dull the pain of her hand getting cut by the dagger.

Everyone else tried not to hurt the children as they attacked them. Diane blocking herself with a strong spear of ice she created from the water in the atmosphere around them; Aladdin blocking the children with his staff; Morgiana trying her best to not shove them forcefully off of her. Hakuryuu hit the children away with the bottom-end of his spear. "Let them be! Let's keep going," he said.

"Y-yes," stumbled Alibaba.

Just as the six were about to run off, the children cried out, "W-wait!" That stopped the six and they looked at the children. "Don't kill mother!" one cried out. "Yeah, don't kill here!" cried another one. They stood up and ran towards the six, still crying out, "She is our mother! She found us in the Slums and took care of us… after we were abandoned!" Alibaba looked shocked and he looked over at Tettia, who was just as shocked. They believed that load of garbage. The little boy in front continued, sobbing, "And then… she was like a real mother to us… she was the first person… to have shown us such kindness! That's why, I beg of you… don't kill her… _don't kill her_!" All of the five members of Team Zagan gasped and looked at the children in shock, meanwhile, Diane just looked at the children with sadness in her eyes.

After their run in with the children, the six continued. "What's going on… so, they are fighting for their _mother_ …? For the savior of their lives…?" questioned Alibaba as they all proceeded.

"So what? That hogwash story sounds fishy as fuck," said Tettia.

Hakuryuu sighed, "But, even if that is true, they are pirates. Did you see how they _destroyed_ that port?"

"I apologize for that… we're under direct orders from Madaura to pillage," came Diane's answered, which was more of an apology. "I would have stopped it, but I was her slave and I did not have a will to resist what she said."

Tettia looked over her shoulder and said to the purplenette woman, "It's fine, Miss Diane. I understand why you did not have a will to resist. You thought Tora was dead, and she is now your will to resist!"

Addressing Hakuryuu, Alibaba began, "Y-yeah but… but what if they really don't understand a thing? If they were raised only knowing how to fight since childhood…"

Looking at the honey-eyed blond, the imperial prince answered, "Even is that's true, that's not a good reason for them to hurt people."

"But… I also… hurt a _lot_ of people following the orders of the one who raised me…" Morgiana said regretfully.

Alibaba, Aladdin and Tettia looked over at their former slave friend. "Mor…" the young Magi and half-Fanalis said in unison.

"I understand that, Morgiana. I have also hurt many under the order of my master…" quietly spoke Diane. Tettia looked back at her best friend's mother in sadness.

"When I was a child, I would always listen to what my mommy said, so I can understand where those kids are coming from. It was the same thing for you, right, Ali?" said the redhead, glancing over at Alibaba.

He nodded and answered, "Yes, I always listened to what my mother said. It was the same for you, right, Hakuryuu…?"

Remaining quiet for a moment, Hakuryuu answered, "Who knows… my sister was like a mother to me. So, I don't know what a real one is like."

"Oh wow, I'm sorry, Haku. But at least your sister was a good mother-figure, aye?" spoked Tettia.

Smiling at his half-Fanalis friend, Hakuryuu answered, "You could say that, yes."

"But I can understand how they feel," came Aladdin's two-cents. Alibaba and Tettia looked over their shoulders and shot the young Magi a questioning look. "I used to feel lonely because I have no family. So, if a gentle _mother_ suddenly appeared… I'm sure I would have been incredibly happy…"

Tettia smiled softly at her young best friend. "But, you do have a family now: us, Laddin!" she said.

"That is true, Tet," the young boy answered with a bright grin.

Sighing, the blond spoke, "The _Great Holy Mother_ took advantage of that feeling and made those children fight."

"I will not forgive her…" said Morgiana.

Looking over at her, Tettia nodded, "I agree with you, Morg. I will never forgive her! Let's hurry!" All during their conversation, they had been running towards Umm Madaura's location — Tettia was a bit antsy to see the murderer of her parents for the first time. She would need to have Alibaba hold her back, because although Tettia swore to Aladdin not to get revenge, it had been her life's underlying goal. To avenge her parents' murder. The half-Fanalis's grip on her daggers tightened to the point where her knuckles were drained of their color.

* * *

Finally, after a few more minutes of running, the six reached the door and burst through it. Inside the room, there stood the dark-purple-haired woman Tettia hated. The woman who had brainwashed those poor children into becoming pirates for her. The woman who held Tora's mother as a slave for who-knows-how-long. "Umm Madaura!" yelled Tettia through tightly gritted teeth.

Umm Madaura laughed as her _children_ stood in between Team Zagan and herself. Placing one hand on her hip, she said, "You did will to arrive here… you are brave children. Thank you for bringing them to me, Diane, you are my precious oldest child; now, return to me. Anyways, you children are so strong that I admire you. Ufufufu…"

Diane scoffed, "I am no longer your slave and _child_ , Madaura!"

Narrowing her eyes at Diane, Madaura said in a low voice, "Come now, Diane. My _precious_ Diane… you must be kidding. You have been my child for fifteen years, show some respect to your mother and stop being rebellious."

"I am not kidding!" Diane shouted as she threw an ice spear at Umm Madaura. The spear grazed the woman's dark-hair, cutting some loose. "I am not going to stand by you anymore, you bitch! You abuse your power and have always used innocent children to do the dirty work you cannot do yourself!"

Jumping in, Alibaba demanded, "Return the children and treasure you took from the city! Or else…"

"Yeah! I will slit your throat anyways, but return what you stole," threatened Tettia, pointing one of her daggers at Umm Madaura's throat.

Huffing in both anger at Diane's betrayal and amusement of the lovers' threats, Umm Madaura said from behind her hand, "It's useless… you can't even attack me…"

Blinking slowly at the stupidity of her words, Tettia laughed condescendingly, "Are you fucking joking? Bitch I could attack you now!"

Umm Madaura blew off what Tettia had said. Readying her magic weapon, the wench spoke, "Now come, little children. And become my sons and daughters. Magic Tool, _Holy Mother Halo Fan_!" Raising her hand, Umm Madaura activated her magic tool, Holy Mother Halo Fan. A bright light bathed the room in light for a brief second before disappearing.

After the light vanished, Alibaba was the first to speak, touching his chest (inspecting for any injuries), "…Nothing happened…?" However, within his chest, Alibaba felt something strange. _What…? My breath… I feel something in my chest…?_ he thought to himself.

Tettia looked at Umm Madaura, her grip on Sotiria's dagger turning her knuckles white once more. The hatred in her eyes seemingly gone. Her breath was caught in her throat, almost to the point where Tettia thought she could not breathe. The feeling in Tettia's chest was so heavy. When she looked at the murderer of her parents, all she saw was Sotiria. _No! It's an illusion! Pull yourself together, Tettia! The woman standing in front of you is not your real mother!_ the half-Fanalis tried encouraging herself to snap out of it.

"Mother…" said Morgiana, falling to her knees. Her usually hard crimson eyes were wide as she looked at Umm Madaura.

Jerking his heads to look at the purebred Fanalis, the blond called out in confusion, "W-what are you saying, Morgiana!?"

"W-what am I saying? I… but… but… she is… my mother…" answered Morgiana.

"What? Stop saying such absurd things! Morgiana! This is _obviously_ one of our enemies' tricks! Diane even told us about this! Don't let yourself be tricked by these strange things!" exclaimed Alibaba, he then looked back at his lover and asked, "You aren't affected, are you, Tet?"

Contrary to her previous claim to cut down Umm Madaura even if that woman played with her mind, Tettia collapsed to her knees as well. Sotiria's dagger clattered against the ground, as Tettia dropped it. She dropped it unable to raise her dagger to her mother's image, even if it was nothing but a dirty tactic used by Umm Madaura. "M-momma…" she said in a whimper. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes. "I-I… know this is a trick… but I can't. I can't raise my dagger against the image of my mother," cried Tettia.

When Alibaba saw that, it had become apparent to him of the tears running down his own face. Touching the stream of tears, he questioned, "W-what, tears…!?"

Umm Madaura smiled demonically as she watched the children squirm. _"Holy Mother Halo Fan_. It's a type of magic toll that disturbs one's mind, but in its real form, it's a magic square of light that imprints an image in the opponent's mind. Newborn infants search for a being that could be their _mother_ in several possible ways because of their survival instinct… but the _Holy Mother Halo Fan_ can change the hormone that controls that instinctive behavior into a signal that is sent to the opponent's brain. That primitive nature that dwells in life. The most universal thing which is carved into all people: the love towards a mother. That's my weapon," explained the cruel woman. "Inside _every_ person lies that kind of love… and from that nostalgia… you absolutely cannot get away!"

Everyone was doubled over, unable to attack Umm Madaura. Diane was struck useless at the sight of her newly acquired allies falling to Umm Madaura's trick. Somehow, the Halo Fan projected Diane's desire to mother Tora, which she never got to do. All of the remaining five were bombarded with images of their mothers or in Hakuryuu's case, mother-figure. Alibaba growled and pointed his sword towards the woman, "St-…stop… _fucking_ with me…!" Soon, even Alibaba fell to his knees, unable to attack the fake mother. He joined his lover in openly sobbing. "Dammit…!" he called, combing one of his hands through his hair.

Tettia managed to crawl over to Alibaba and sat beside him, taking the hand clutching his hair tightly and holding it in her own. "A-Ali… I-I want you to meet m-my momma…" she cried, looking over at Alibaba. Looking up at Umm Madaura, Tettia said again, "H-hey Momma… _this_ ," she leaned on Alibaba's shoulder, "is my lover… your possible f-future son-in-law… aren't you happy?"

They all dreamed of their mothers. Morgiana and Diane crawling over to Umm Madaura, latching onto her clothes, they cried out to her. Diane crying out Tora's name as she cuddled Umm Madaura's clothes. "There, there, you're both good children… even if I don't know what kind of dream you are having. Ufufufu!" Looking down at Tettia, Umm Madaura answered, "Of course I am happy, my child." Then she casted her eyes towards Hakuryuu, saying, "Now… I wonder what kind of dream _this_ child is having…? Ufufufu!" Hakuryuu was dreaming about his sister, Hakuei. Who had been more of a mother to the young imperial prince than the two's actual birth mother. Soon, even Hakuryuu fell to his knees, unable to resist the cruel woman's influence. With yet another demonic look, Umm Madaura said, "Heh, too easy… no matter who he is, if he is still a child, he cannot resist me. With this Halo Fan, I will control the future rulers of this world while they are still children. And then… and then…" she got excited, "sooner of later all the humans of this world will become my children… Ufufufufufufu!"

Alibaba and Tettia were lost in their thoughts, both trying to snap themselves out of it, but never succeeding. That magic would not allow them to escape. They were about to completely give in, until a familiar voice called out to them. "Are you _really_ fine with this, Alibaba? What about you, Tet?" Both of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw a figure breaking through the magic. It was Aladdin. They both gasped his name. "Alibaba… Tet… that woman isn't your mother, right?" he asked.

Both Tettia and Alibaba looked past their young best friend, at the fake mother. "I know… I know, but…" they both answered.

"Is it _really_ okay… for someone to be dictating your every move? We must live by ourselves. And even… if she was your real mother… are you two… fine with that!?" Aladdin said. The two stayed quiet and he continued, "I don't mine. The effect of this move is weaker on me because I've never really met my own mother… I'm fine being by myself. Because… within my heart, there are Ugo, Granny… those from the caravan, those from Sindria, then you, Tet and Mor… I've met all kinds of people, their lives, their way of thinking… isn't there something similar… inside your hearts as well?" That brought a halt to the lovers' crying, they looked at Aladdin with pensive eyes. "Didn't something remain inside you two, when the people you met entrusted their feelings to you both? And you too, Mor… remember the important things you received… from the others! You too, Miss Diane!"

Morgiana slowly started to come back as well, remembering Goltas's words: _Morgiana, you always kept strong to your pride._ She clutched at the ground. Diane also starting to come back.

"NO! LISTEN TO WHAT YOUR MOTHER SAYS!" screamed Umm Madaura. All of them, excluding Hakuryuu for the moment, started standing up. "How is this possible!? They're going against… mother's orders…" she questioned. Once she had finished her statement, they all fully stood up, breaking free of her chains.

Alibaba looked at Tettia and Aladdin, who stood side by side. "I'm sorry Aladdin… that you and Tet had to see such a bad side of me," he said to his two best friends.

Laughing, Tettia answered, "Are you kidding me, Ali? There's no reason to apologize to us. I am your lover after all, I was bound to see this side of you at some point, aye?"

Diane chuckled, saying, "She has a good point, Alibaba. As anyone's lover, you see a side of them nobody else really sees. It is also a two-way street: Tettia saw your bad side and you saw hers."

"Yeah! You saw mine, Ali. I didn't keep my promise to myself… I broke my own promise. I couldn't bring myself to attack Umm Madaura even though I knew she was not my mother — and I had said that I would. I pride myself in never breaking promises, yet I broke a promise and then crumbled to my knees. I was sobbing out for my mother, though I knew she was not standing before me," explained Tettia, picking up her dagger from the floor. "However, now that Laddin's broken us free, I won't be tricked by her magic again!"

Morgiana nodded and echoed, "Neither will I. I will not be tricked again…"

"Neither will I. I was tricked by her this time, she played with my motherly instincts. I saw her as my little Tora and I couldn't attack my baby," Diane explained her reason for being unable to do anything.

Umm Madaura sucked in a breath and gnashed her teeth as she looked at the five who had broken her control. _The Hall Fan bounced back…!? It's supposed to be a tool that works on children and Diane without fail… and yet these four children…! Even if they have the bodies of children… they have the mentality of adults already… as for Diane… she's truly betrayed me! The ingrate!_ thought Umm Madaura to herself.

"Haku!" called Tettia from over her shoulder, "Hey, listen up, Haku!"

Alibaba looked over his shoulder and shouted at the imperial prince, "Hakuryuu, break free from her control!"

"Quickly!" added Tettia.

Once the lovers said that, they turned their heads back to look in front of them. They were met with the army of children brainwashed by the cruel Umm Madaura. All the children had their teeth bared, blades pointed at the five uncontrolled enemies. "Defend Mom to the _death_!" screamed Olba. Upon finishing, the children all lunged at the five standing.

"Y-you guys still want to fight!? Hurry up and open your eyes!" called Alibaba as he dodged the children's attacks. Tettia deflected their attacks and said, "C'mon!? Are you still fucking serious about defending her?! She is brainwashing you all!" The children ignored their pleas and continued defending their precious mother. _They aren't listening to me…!?_ the lovers thought in unison.

Laughing darkly, the dark-haired woman said, "Ufufu… _motherly love_ … do you know who craves it the most…?" She smiled a dark, malicious grin as she continued, "Those who lost the chance to experience it during infancy! That's why I picked up these orphans that were abandoned by their mothers in the Slums… you cannot erase the brainwashing I did on these children! Ufufufu!"

"How cruel…" said Morgiana.

"Agreed! Which is why she must DIE!" yelled Tettia and she lunged towards the cruel woman. However, she was blocked by a child.

Turning away from the five, Umm Madaura waved her hand dismissively in the air, stating, "I leave the rest to you."

"Hey… wait!" called Tettia. "I'm not done with you yet, you cunt!" It was then that the half-Fanalis noticed the imperial prince standing near the retreating murderess. "HAKU! Don't let that cunt get away!" she screamed at him. Seeing no movement from Hakuryuu, Tettia thought he was still lost in his dream; thus she screamed once again, louder than before, " _ **HAKURYUU REN**_! MADAURA'S GETTING AWAY, HAKURYUU! _**HAKU**_ , FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK, _**STOP HER**_!" The navy-haired prince started to move and Tettia shouted in happiness, that was, however, short-lived happiness. Hakuryuu had begun to attack his friends and new ally. "HAKU!? What the fuck, dude!" screamed Tettia.

"To… go… save… my mother!" said Hakuryuu.

Alibaba looked at Hakuryuu, who was readying his spear, his Djinn's star glowing. "Wha… what are you talking about…!? Hakuryuu!?" he exclaimed.

"Dwell in my body… Zagan!" commanded the prince, equipping his Djinn. He, honestly, looked pretty badass, had only he been on their side at that moment in time.

Everyone looked at him with wide eyes, Alibaba staggering backwards as he stammered, "D-Djinn… Equip…!?"

"HAKU!" screamed Tettia in horror. She lunged forward, towards Hakuryuu, but was stopped when Diane took her by the wrist. "I-I'm… going to snap you out of this, Haku," claimed Tettia, tears in her eyes. How could Hakuryuu be turned against them? How had he not heard them screaming at him to snap out of it? Least to say, this made Tettia's desire to kill Umm Madaura that much stronger.

Lunging at his friends, Hakuryuu struck the ground, leaving a hole where his spear struck the ground. "What!?" yelled the blond, "What're you doing, Hakuryuu!? What happened!? Hey!"

"Haku! Fucking snap out of it!" cried out Tettia.

Laughing from behind her hand, Umm Madaura said, "Ufufufu, it seems that he is the only one to still be a child. He's inside the Halo Fan's Dream. Come, child, fight for your _mother_!" Hakuryuu continued fighting for Umm Madaura, from his slashes came forth monsters.

"What!?" exclaimed Alibaba. _What are those monsters!? Where did they come from!? Is that Zagan's power? No, there aren't any plants in this room, but…?_ he thought to himself.

Hakuryuu started spawning those monsters and basically shooting them at his friends. Tettia activated her Household Vessel, and burned some of the monsters away. "Haku! Please come back to us! You don't want to hurt Morgiana, do you?!" she exclaimed. The prince, however, ignored her and continued attacking.

Soon, Alibaba equipped his Djinn, cutting through some monsters as well. When Hakuryuu's spear collided with Amon's Sword, Alibaba said, "It's useless, Hakuryuu! Amon's Sword can even cut Metal Vessels!" However, the spear would not be cut. "What, it's not cutting it!?" asked a confused Alibaba.

"The surface of the spear," exclaimed Morgiana, pointing to the spear.

Hakuryuu was guarding his spear with his Magoi. "Haku! Stop that shit!" exclaimed Tettia, "No more Magoi Manipulation!" The navy-haired prince and the blond former prince continued to fight, Hakuryuu momentarily overpowering Alibaba. The way he fought so desperately had Tettia wondering what was going on inside Hakuryuu's head. It was clear he was fighting for more than just to protect Umm Madaura.

* * *

Marina inhaled deeply. She had a bad feeling something was wrong. The Atlantean queen could feel that something was not right with her adoptive daughter. Like Tettia was going through so many intense emotions — anger, hatred and malice being the dominant emotions. _What could be happening?_ she thought to herself.

"The fuck's wrong, Mari," asked the pinkish-red eyed purplenette. Tora also had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach: like something she had lost had been found again.

Looking over at Tora, the golden-haired queen answered, "I feel like something is happening with Tettia. Something bad, Tor. And I can't be there to help her."

"I see. I understand that feeling, Mari. I feel like Morgiana is also going through something fucking terrible right now, too. Yet, at the same fucking time, I have a sense that something is going to come back to me once this feeling of dread is gone," answered Tora.

"I hope they can make it on their own without us. I would be devestated if my daughter were to die," sighed Marina, casting a solemn purple gaze at the floor.

Patting her back, Tora concurred, "I fucking agree with you, Mari. Hundred percent! But, think of it this way: those fucking kids have Little Man with them, and he is very powerful. He can fucking deal with anything like a trooper! If they ever hit a low point before they part ways, Aladdin will pick them back up. Or at least, pick Tet and Babwa up who will in turn pick up everyone else. Aladdin, Tet and Babwa are truly a fucking inspiration to their other friends."

Laughing, Marina answered, "You have a point there, Tora. But I can't get over the feeling that Tet kinda fell into depravity…"

Tora stopped a moment and thought. "Oh," she said, "I think I know the reason. Ya remember that cunt Maader, Mari?"

"That rancid woman from Remano who tricked Sin the Perv into becoming her slave?"

"Yeah. The fucking cunt who had my Massy as a slave only to use him to get what she wanted? Yeah, that Maader," answered Tora.

Taking a minute to recollect that memory, Marina nodded, "Yeah, I do remember her. Why?"

"Well, she goes by the fucking name Umm Madaura now. The fucking _Great Holy Mother_. Well, anyways, Tet probably fell into depravity a little bit because — from what she's told me — Umm Madaura was the one who killed her biological parents. Fucking burned their home to the ground, she told me. Tet told me that should she ever meet that cunt, she would do whatever it takes to be the one to end her life," said Tora.

Marina gasped, "No! Tet can't fall like that! Not to revenge!"

"I'm sure that when she fucking falls, she won't be gone for too damn long. After all, do you really think Little Man would lose his best friend and sister-figure like that? I don't fucking think so. Aladdin and Alibaba wouldn't fucking lose her like that. They'd bring her back real quick and you know it, Mari."

"You're right, Tor. I shouldn't worry about that. She has people who could and can bring her back should she fall…" said the queen.

Chuckling, Tora spoke, "You're gotdamn right I'm right, Mari! Now! Stop mopping around and let's go get you some candy to eat!"

Gazing over her shoulder at Tora, Marina asked, "You aren't gonna join me in eating candy, Tor?"

With a small frown taking over her lips, the purplenette answered, "As much as I would fucking love to join you, Mari, I can't. Massy and me have some romantic date shit to do tonight. It's our date night. Plus, it's been a while since I've had my husband all to myself," she snickered deviously, winking at Marina, "therefore, I have some damn good fantasies I wanna have played out!"

A blush made it's way onto Marina's face. "Okay, okay, okay! I didn't need to know that last part, Tora!" screamed the embarrassed Atlantean.

"What last part, Marina?" asked Sinbad as he walked up to the two ladies.

Tora turned her amused pinkish-red gaze to her king. "Oh, what's up, King Moron?"

Waving at the powerful young purplenette, the king answered, "Hello, Tora. Nothing really, just wondering what you two were talking about," he took a look at Marina's flushed face and continued, "and why it has Marina so embarrassed."

"Aah! Welp, that's simple, King Moron! I was just telling Mari of my and Massy's romantic night we have planned. Since it is the first time we've _really_ had _any time_ to ourselves since before we went to Balbadd, I plan on acting out some… intense… fucking fantasies. Catch my drift, Cap'n Moron?" explained Tora, winking at the purple-haired king.

Instead of recoiling in embarrassment like the other royalty, Sinbad smirked at Tora. "Oh, well, then you better go get started, eh? What's on your agenda first, if I may ask?"

Tapping her chin, Tora answered, "Well, sex isn't my first priority as of right now, per se. First on the agenda is a romantic night out in the kingdom. We may go out to eat at our favorite place, where we can get some prime-cooked fish, then we'll probably take a walk on the beach. Because I like that sappy shit, makes me feel like I have no care in the fucking world but Massy. Most of the time will probably be spent just with each other; enjoying each other's company. Ya know what I mean, Cap'n Moron?" She slipped into calling him Captain Moron again for no reason.

Sinbad stared at Tora. Sex was not on the top of her priority lists? Was something wrong with her? "W-wow…" he stuttered, "that's pretty thought out, Tora. You really just want to spend time with Masrur, don't you?"

"W-well _yeah_! Fucking course I do, Cap'n Moron! It's been a year since I've had an adequate amount of time with my damn husband! I don't want it to seem like all I want from him is sex! I really love my husband, dammit," stammered Tora, blushing for the first time in a while.

Smiling, Sinbad answered, "I can tell you do, Tora. It's clear in the way you talk about Masrur. Anyways, why don't you go to him? You both clearly have a lot planned for tonight. Shouldn't keep you from getting your romantic night started."

Tora smiled almost giddily. "Okay! Also, why don't you take Mari to get some candy, King Moron? That's what we were about to do," she said.

Sinbad looked at Marina and smiled, "I can do that," he said.

"Good! See you later then!" exclaimed Tora as she waved and ran off to find her husband.

* * *

"Massy~!" called Tora as she attacked her husband with a hug.

Masrur was taken by surprise as Tora hugged him. "Hello, Tora," he said to his wife.

Tora kissed his cheek as she answered, "Hello, gorgeous~! You ready for tonight?!"

"Yes, I am. Are you?" he answered then counter-asked his purplenette wife.

Giggling happily, Tora quickly answered, "You know I am, Masrur! I have been waiting for this night for several months, dammit!"

The male Fanalis smiled softly as he pet his wife's purple hair. "I have also been waiting for tonight, Tora. Shall we get started then? After all, the sun is setting."

Looking up at her husband, Tora's pinkish-red eyes glimmered as she answered, "Fuck yes! As long as you are ready to start our night, Massy!" Masrur smiled softly, grabbed her hand and started to lead Tora away, towards their favorite food place.

* * *

Once they had eaten dinner, Tora and Masrur made their way to the beach of the Gulf of Sindria. They had their fingers threaded together; Tora's left hand entangled with Masrur's right hand. Tora was swinging their linked arms as they walked, humming a tune of her own creation. "Walking on the beach~" she sang, "Hand-in-hand with Mas~ Loving all this time~" she looked over and leaned in towards Masrur, kissing his cheek, "That I get to spend~ With my husband true~ Weather is so nice~ Which makes this very nice~ I love you, Massy dear~ I know you love me too~"

"That I do, very much so," said a softly smiling Masrur.

"Damn right you do~" sang Tora, smiling brightly, "And now I'm done~ With my goofy song~ Hope you enjoyed~ My handsome man~"

Masrur chuckled quietly, "I did quite enjoy your little tune, Tora." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She smiled brightly, stopping in the sand. "I'm glad you fucking liked it, Massy. It makes me prettt damn happy that you enjoyed my stupid, goofy bullshit," she said.

"You act as if it surprises you that I would enjoy your goofiness, Tora," he said.

Tora rubbed the back of her neck with her other hand. "Well yeah… it kinda does surprise this bitch. I mean, when I first met you, I screamed some _pretty mean_ shit at you… and I said I would kill you. So, yeah, I'm honestly still surprised you fell in love with me."

The built male Fanalis shrugged as he answered, "You were upset at the time you first met me, Tora. I had just beat Sinbad in a gladiator battle and thus lead to him becoming Maader's slave for a good chunk of time. But, after I was freed, you were one of the first people to try to get me down off the roof."

"Yeah, but Hinahoho was the one who did that. You made quick work of me. You were so damn strong back then; I literally had backaches for months after you threw me off the roof," laughed Tora.

Masrur smiled and pulled his wife into a hug. "I have apologized for that many times since we got married," he said.

The purplenette almost melted into the hug, answering, "And I have forgiven you every time, Massy. You trained me after that. I've gotten so much stronger since I met you. Fuck, I even followed you for a little bit when you were a teen and left Sinbad's side for a while."

"Those were fun times, though, Tor. Remember how one time you beat the crap out of a girl who looked at me the wrong way?" he asked, being more talkative than he normally ever was. This was only a side of him his wife got to see, nobody else got to see Masrur this talkative. He just found it so easy to talk to Tora, and they never really got the chance to reminisce about their younger lives.

Laughing, the purplenette answered, "How the hell could I forget that time? She batted her eyelashes at you and that sent me over the edge. I punched the fuck out of her and, if I remember right, broke her arm. I was, and still am, _very_ territorial of you, Massy!"

With a small chuckle, Masrur said, "I know. I remember what you did to Sharrkan during the festival after Sinbad got back from the Kou Empire."

"KICKED THE FUCK OUTTA SHARK-BOY!" exclaimed Tora, untangling her hand from Masrur's, pushing herself away from the hug and punched the air victoriously. The married couple looked at each other and laughed, Masrur laughing softly as well as briefly, Tora laughing long and heartily. "Ya know, I don't know if I've ever told you this before, but… I'm really fucking glad we got married, Massy. We always had fun together, whether you would show it or not back when you first joined up with us. Back then," she looked at the sky, "I was sure you would never end up liking me as a friend, let alone a lover or wife. But… for once, I'm hella happy that I was wrong, because I wouldn't be as happy as I am now."

Stepping towards her, Masrur took her hand in his again and said, with a small smile, "I feel the same way, Tora."

"You thought I would hate you forever because of you beating King Moron and making him a slave?" she asked her husband. He nodded. "Nah! I just greatly disliked you at the time! After all, you had just stolen the man who saved my damn life from me. I was pretty pissy. But, when we got Sinbad and you slaves out, I saw that you were a pretty okay dude. So I tried getting to know you. It took you a while, but soon we starting having some nice little conversations. And soon after that, I fell for ya… pretty fucking hard might I add."

He kissed her forehead again and said, "Want to… go back to our room now?"

Grinning a devious grin, Tora answered with a simple, "Fuck. yes."

* * *

 **A/N: I put a Sindria thing in here! Sorry I didn't focus on MarSin, I thought since we haven't had many TorMas interactions, let's have one! This is how I think Mas would act around his s/o in my head: be able to talk freely to them, and come out of his stoic, quiet shell just for his wife. For Tor. Hope y'all liked the added stuff about their past; I don't get to talk about Tor's past with Sinbad very often, but I want to.**


	34. Alibaba and Tettia

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Alibaba and Tettia**

 **A/N: Yeah, I just summed up the remainder of the Pirates Arc. Hope y'all are chill with that because that's how it's gonna be. I was ready for it to be over anyways, so yeah. On another note: alrighty guys, we're here! The World Exploration Arc! Unfortunately, and fortunately for me, I'm not going to write about what everyone else is doing in this arc (I know, I'm kinda sorry), but instead will focus on Alibaba and Tettia and their time in the Reim Empire. I have something really funny in store for this chapter, and mind you this will be the only chapter for the World Exploration Arc, so it will be quite long (probably) and I will more than likely bounce to Sindria for some MarSin and TorMas moments because, God knows they need more moments! Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter~! Also, Wildfire drew me the picture used for this chapter! Oh I love her so much! ;3**

* * *

Umm Madaura was captured by the Akita navy. Hakuryuu decapitated her, which infuriated Tettia, as she was the one who wanted to end Umm Madaura's life. As revenge for her parents' murder, but a part of her was happy Hakuryuu killed her instead. Olba was not happy and tried killing the imperial prince, but was stopped by the prince who coldly stated that Olba and the rest of his siblings were never loved by that woman, which they were not. Soon, Alibaba had talked Olba and the rest of the former pirates into joining their cause, and also getting the Akita Kingdom to transfer the pirates into Sinbad's care.

Later that day, Hakuryuu had told Morgiana his feelings and that he was leaving the group; that he could no longer be around Alibaba, Tettia, Aladdin and Morgiana. The prince also asked Morgiana to marry him, to become his empress; he even kissed the Fanalis. Morgiana, who did not know her true feelings for the prince, declined and told him to stop saying such nonsense, and they they should get back to Tettia, Alibaba and Aladdin. Hakuryuu then departed from then, saying he would come back and ask Morgiana again to marry him some day.

* * *

Morgiana came back to the four, a sad and solemn look on her face. "Ah, Mor," said Aladdin to his friend.

Tettia looked around for Hakuryuu and then asked the younger Fanalis, "Hey, Morg, did you see Haku?"

With her sad crimson gaze piercing Tettia's gaze, she was sad to say, "…Hakuryuu… departed from the city already, and is heading alone to the Tenzan Plateau."

"Excuse me!?" exclaimed Tettia.

Diane was confused. "Why would he do that?" she asked, "You all seemed to be good friends, right?"

"Yeah! We're friends, Miss Diane! He can't just fucking leave me without saying goodbye or at least giving me a damn hug, the bastard!" whined Tettia.

Aladdin also shared his sister's concern and he asked, "How come? He left us like that without bidding farewell?"

Alibaba was quick to turn on his heels and speedily walked away. Tettia whipped her head towards him, "Ali? Where are you—"

"This is not right…" he answered his lover through clenched teeth, "I have to find him… I _need_ to have a _talk_ with him…"

Aladdin and Tettia followed after the blond, both questioning, "A talk?"

A single tear fell from the blond's honey eyes as he said, "Hakuryuu… resembles Cassim…! He has the same eyes as him… the eyes that killed his father in order to protect his sister. I finally understood that after what he said about his mother…! And, like Cassim, he will continue to hate… until one day he will kill his mother… and end up regretting it…!" The blond got even more agitated as he talked, "And then… if… even his sister dies…!" He was still speed walking away.

"Calm down, Alibaba," exclaimed Aladdin, following behind his blond best friend.

Alibaba was not going to listen, he kept walking, "Anyway, I have to find him!"

Tettia knew he was going to do something stupid and she launched herself at her lover. As her body hit Alibaba's, he stopped briefly. "Alibaba, calm yourself! Please!" she pleaded, "Don't go and do something stupid!"

"Why!? I have to talk to him, Tet," shouted Alibaba.

"No! You don't! Please don't go! It's too personal for you, your emotions would get in the way. PLEASE don't do it," Tettia heartfeltly pleaded with her lover.

Taking a moment to calm down a bit, Alibaba looked down at his lover. The determination and truth in her face is was ultimately kept him from doing it. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a hug, "Fine. I won't go."

Aladdin also saw how upset Morgiana (who was being comforted by Diane) was, getting onto his magic turban, he said, "I will go. Is that alright with you, Mor?" Looking up at him, Morgiana nodded and then Aladdin took off to find Hakuryuu.

* * *

The next morning, our five friends (including Diane) all parted ways after an evening of fun. Aladdin going to Magnostadt, Morgiana going to the Dark Continent, Diane catching a ride with the Sindrian trade ship back to Sindria to be with her daughter again, and the lovers going on their own boat to Remano. Before Alibaba and Tettia boarded their ship, the older half-Fanalis gave Morgiana a necklace. A gift from the lovers to her, something they hoped she would treasure as long as she lived. With that, they bid her goodbye, Tettia hugging the younger Fanalis tightly before leaving her.

* * *

Alibaba had _saved_ the ship from pirates, apparently. The passengers praised the blond and soon brought him alcohol. To which he gladly accepted and began drinking heavily. Tettia drank, too, but not to the point of absolute drunkenness like her blond lover. The reason behind her light drinking? Simply put, it was so she could fight if anything were to happen — like more pirates showing up. Suddenly, out of the blue, the blond was leaning against his half-Fanalis lover. With an eyebrow raised in acknowledgement, she asked, "Aye? Whaddya want, Ali?"

"Te-Tet…" he started, hiccuped, then continued, "I want you~~ to…" another hiccup, "marry meee~~~!"

Tettia choked on her wine at his drunken words. She spit out what wine had not gone down the wrong way and then proceeded to cough hysterically. Her face turned red and tears streamed from her eyes, that was how hard she was coughing. Bawling up a fist, she pounded it harshly against her chest and eventually, she stopped coughing. When she regained her ability to breath without coughing up a lung, Tettia exclaimed a loud, " _ **WHAT**_!?"

Chuckling like the drunken idiot he was being at that moment, Alibaba repeated, "I said~~~ I want you~~~" he pointed at her, "to marry me~~! Geeez, can you not hear, Tet~~~?" The then started touching his lover — on her face, her shoulders, her waist — everywhere really. He even got bold and squeezed her butt.

"Alibaba Saluja!" she shouted in a squeaky voice as he grabbed her butt. The half-Fanalis's face had grown bright red and she promptly swatted his hands way from her body. "You're _drunk_! Lay down and go to bed!"

Alibaba whined, "Nooooo~~~! Not until~~ you agree to marry~~ me~!"

She sighed, "Again! You are drunk! I don't believe you when you say that! Now go to fucking sleep!"

"MMMAAARRRRRRYYY MMMEEE~~~!" he drunkenly shouted loud enough for Sinbad to hear them back in Sindria.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Tettia sucked in a deep breath to calm her irritation. "Alibaba Saluja. Go to fucking bed! If you ask me that question when you're sober, I may take you seriously and answer it," she said in an irritated tone.

* * *

Eventually, Alibaba had fallen asleep, and Tettia dozed off in a half-drunk stupor. When some rustling woke Tettia up, her eyes aimlessly scanned the room in search of the rustling. When her eyes found the source, it almost had her laughing: Tettia found that her lover was being robbed of everything but his knife. The thieves stopped and looked at her, having felt her gaze upon them, while some reached for their knifes. Putting her hands up in front of her, Tettia said, "Calm down, mates. I'm not gonna stop ya. He kinda deserves it for getting hammered."

"But aren't you his lover, ma'am? Shouldn't you want to stop us?" asked a thief.

Shrugging, Tettia answered, "Well, _yeah_ , I'm his lover, but… when he does something dumb like _this_ …" she gestured to him getting so hammered, Alibaba was not even waking up while he was getting robbed, "well… he's gotta learn sometime, right?"

Another thief laughed, "You sure are a weird kind of lover."

"Yeah, I am. Makes me unique, though. Now, you can steal from him but if you even think about robbing me… I'll kill ya, got it?" said Tettia, glaring at thieves.

"Yes ma'am," the thieves said, going back to looting the blond.

* * *

The blond woke up and noticed everything of his was gone, including the clothes on his back. Alibaba's head was pounding; hangovers sucked. "What the hell happened to me!?" he shouted.

"Hm?" hummed a waking up Tettia. "What are you screaming about, Ali?"

"My clothes are gone! Everything's gone!" he said. He looked at Tettia and saw that nothing of hers was missing. "Why do you still have all of your stuff?"

The half-Fanalis laughed, "Oh! That's because I woke up at some point and saw thieves robbing you. I told them not to touch me or they die."

Alibaba's jaw dropped. "You just let them rob me!? **_TET_**! Why?" he asked, standing up angrily.

"Ali! You have no clothes on!" exclaimed Tettia, covering her eyes. "Also, of course I let them do it! You got hammered, so you go what you deserved. _SORRY_?!"

Alibaba groaned and grabbed the bed sheets, making them into makeshift clothes. "You could have told them to leave my _clothes_ ," he said in a huff.

"I'm sorry, Ali," she apologized.

Sitting down beside her, he said, "It's fine. At least they didn't take _everything_ from me."

Looking at him like he had lost his mind, Tettia asked, "Whaddya mean, boy? They _literally_ left you with nothing but your knife!"

The blond leaned over and kissed his lover's nose. "No, they didn't take you, did they? And you're a big part of my life, Tet. In fact, you're practically my everything," he said near her ear.

She blushed and covered one of his hands with hers, leaning on his shoulder. "Aww, that's sweet, Alibaba. I can say the same about you, too," she answered, kissing his cheek.

"You know, I just remembered something from last night," he spoke, leaning his head against hers.

Casting her crimson eyes upwards, she asked, "Really? And what is it that you remembered?"

He smiled devilishly and answered, against near her ear, "I remember that I asked you to marry me and you _never_ gave me an answer. You dodged my question."

The half-Fanalis's eyes widened at his words. "Y-you remember that? B-but you were fucking hammered…" she said.

"And? I meant what I asked you, Tet. Look, I know we haven't known each other for a very long time, and surely we haven't been dating long, but… I love you, Tettia. And I want you to be my wife. So? Will you marry me?" Alibaba asked, intertwining his fingers with his lover's.

Tettia's heart jumped with joy. Yes, she wanted to marry Alibaba more than anything, but, she also wanted to keep him waiting just for a little longer. Because she was a bitch. Her heart also jumped into her throat at his question, this time he was sober and she knew he meant it. "I, ummm…" she thought of a way to dodge the question, "we should probably get off the ship now, Ali. It should be leaving port soon."

"You're dodging my question again, Tet. But, fine, let's go. We have to go to Remano anyways, right?" he asked, kissing her forehead.

"I am not dodging the question, Alibaba! I just want to go to Remano! You need to train!" exclaimed Tettia.

Smiling, Alibaba answered his lover, "Yeah, of course you're not dodging my question."

"I'm noooot! I'm not dodging the question, Ali!" whined Tettia.

Standing up, Alibaba did not let go of her hand, trying to get her to stand up with him. "All right, whatever you say, Tet. Come on, then," he said.

"Fine. Fine. I'm coming, Ali," spoke Tettia, standing up with him. "Let's go, my love."

Alibaba smiled at her and they left the boat. They started to walk through the woods on the path, towards Remano. "You know, I'm going to keep asking you to marry me until you say yes," he said to his lover.

Expecting no less from her persistent lover, the half-Fanalis answered, "Yeah, I know, Ali. And I'll say ' _yes'_ at some point. Probably when you complete your training or something spectacular like that."

" **Really**!?" Alibaba exclaimed happily at her confession, "Are you serious about that, Tet?!"

Looking over at him, she smiled and answered, "Yeah. That's probably when I say _'yes'_ , as a reward for you completing training or something very tasking like beating a tough opponent. But, for now, let's just make it to Remano, yeah?"

Alibaba looked so happy. "Oh yeah! Let's go!" he exclaimed, letting go of her hand to run in front of her. "Come on! Let's hurry!"

"You sure are ready to get there, huh?" she asked him, laughing.

He nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I want you to marry me, Tet! If finishing my training is all it takes, I'm ready to get it done!" shouted the excited blond. Tettia laughed at his resolve.

* * *

Tora stood in silence. There before her stood her mother — her lovely green-eyed mother. The mother of which she had not seen in sixteen long years. Tears pooled at the corners of her pinkish-red eyes, about to overflow. "M-mother?" she questioned.

Diane was also crying; her daughter had grown up to be such a gorgeous young woman. "M-my baby… look at you. So grown up, so beautiful," spoke Diane, her voice wavering as she stepped towards her daughter.

Sinbad and Marina stared at the two purplenettes. "Tora had a mother, Sin? I thought her mother died," whispered the Atlantean queen.

"I never knew what happened to her mother, Mari. I saved Tora from being killed by bandits when she was three while I was trying to establish myself as a merchant," Sinbad whispered to the fellow royalty.

Marina gaped for a minute, before answering him, "Oh. Wow."

Biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, Tora launched herself at her mother. "Momma!" cried the nineteen-year-old. She attacked her mother with a hug and once she was in Diane's arms, Tora started bawling like a baby. "I-I thought I'd never see you again!"

The older purplenette stroked her daughter's hair, crying out as well, "I know. I know, honey. I thought you were dead! All me and your father saw as we were dragged away was an unconscious you tucked under that man's arm. When we were halfway through the city we heard you scream out for someone to help you. I thought nobody came to save you."

"K-king Moron was the one who saved me!" Tora cried out.

"Who is this King?" Diane asked, looking around.

Sinbad raised a hand into the air, saying, "That would be me, Miss."

Diane smiled thankfully at Sinbad. "Thank you, King. You saved my daughter," she spoke, bowing to him.

"There's really no need to thank me, Miss. I always help out people in need," answered Sinbad, "Also, please just call me Sinbad."

"There is a reason to thank you. Without you, Tora would be dead, if not made a slave like me and her father were," said Diane, "Also, please, my name is Diane, you don't have to keep calling me _'Miss'_ , King Sinbad."

Sinbad chuckled a bit before saying, "Tora was actually a big help in getting us where we are today. Both her and Ja'far were the two people who made sure I didn't do anything too stupid. They would also reprimand me when I needed it. She was a big help since she was five, Diane."

Tora laughed, her tears of happiness receding, "Damn right I was kicking ass since I was five! Also, are you kidding me, fucking course I would reprimand King Moron when he needed it! Killjoy and I wouldn't let him get the hell aways with being an idiot!"

The green-eyed purplenette laughed, "That's my girl. Still as vulgar as ever, I see. That hasn't changed in sixteen years. Also, your friend Tettia told me you were married; where's my son-in-law?"

Masrur stepped forward. Tora pushed herself away from her mother and stepped next to her husband. Pointing to him, she introduced, "Momma, this is Masrur. He is my husband. And he's a Fanalis. He trained me for years, so now I'm almost as strong as a Fanalis! I've also mastered many types of magic in sixteen years, I'm a powerful magician now, but I prefer brute strength."

Diane looked at her son-in-law, circling him. She was impressed with him. "I like him. Nice to meet you, Masrur," she said, "I'm Diane. I'm sure training Tora was not an easy process, was it?"

He shook his head, "No, it was actually quite easy to train her."

"I was ready to learn how to kick ass and get stronger, Momma!" exclaimed Tora.

"Hmm, I see. Now, how long have you two been married?" Diane asked, "And where are my grandchildren?"

Tora smiled and clapped her hands together, "Massy and me have been married for five years now!"

The green-eyed purplenette stumbled backwards, exclaiming, "You got married at fourteen?!"

"Yeah? Is there something wrong with that, Momma?" questioned the pinkish-red eyed purplenette.

"No! Not at all, but I should have grandchildren by now! Where are they?"

Tora laughed and rubbed the back of her neck, "Weeeeellll, I haven't given birth to any kids yet, but Massy and I did kinda adopt a younger Fanalis. Her name is Morgiana, I believe you met her already, right? What do you think of her?"

"Morgiana?" questioned Diane, "Oh! I loved her! She is amazing! Strong and beautiful! I could tell that boy — what was his name, Hakuryuu? — really likes her."

Marina laughed, "That seems about right. I mean, there isn't much to not like about little Morgiana, right, Tor?"

"Gotdamn right!" laughed Tora.

Casting her green eyes at Marina, Diane asked, "And who are you, sweetie?"

"Me?" asked Marina.

Sarabi rolled her eyes as she said, "No, she's talking about the name of the sky, Marina."

"No need to get sassy with me, Abi-poo!" whined Marina childishly. After being childish for a moment, Marina introduced herself, "Hello, Miss Diane. I am Queen Marina Miyu Avonmora of Atlantis! It's a pleasure to meet the mother of one of my good friends!"

Diane looked at her daughter. "You know two people of royalty?" she asked Tora.

Nodding, Tora spoke, "Yeah, I do, Momma. Impressed? But, for one, King Moron wasn't always a king, he used to be Captain Moron! And for a while, Marina was also the captain of a ship all her own. I believe she had to fight to get her kingdom back, right, Mari?"

"Ahhh, yeah! Correct! I fought and regained control of my kingdom when I was about sixteen. I believe I enlisted the help of you and Sinbad's group at that time," said Marina.

Sarabi nodded in conformation as she spoke, "You did. I remember fighting along side Ja'far."

Diane gaped at her daughter, "Looks like you sure have lived a full life with King Sinbad, huh, sweetie?"

Smiling almost stupidly, Tora answered her mother, "Oh, hell yeah! I wouldn't have wanted it any other fucking way, neither! I am perfectly content with my life." Masrur smiled at her and she latched onto his body. "And I'm glad to be married to this man right here~!"

"He seems to make you very happy, my little tiger," answered Diane, smiling at her daughter and son-in-law. "If you don't mind me asking, might I ask how you two even met?"

Tora laughed, "Oh that's a fun story, Momma! We first met when I was five and he was seven, but we didn't exactly met in the best of situations. You see, Captain Moron over there got himself into some trouble back when he was sixteen! Okay, some background, though…" The purplenette began to explain how she and Masrur met. She started with when they arrived at Sasan and acquired trade with that kingdom, then she moved on to how they acquired trade with the Artemyra Empire. Laughing about how their new friend, Mystras, Ja'far and Sinbad had offended the queen and were thrown into a chasm where they lived for a while. Diane gasped and looked at Sinbad in horror, how dare he just leave her daughter and his good friend up there: the good friend being used as a sex partner (or something along those lines). "Okay, so, anyways! We get back to Napoli and find out that our company had been gypped by this trading company in Remano. So, Captain Moron thought it proper to fly to the capital of Reim and have a discussion with the head of the company who gypped us. That," Tora pointed to Sinbad, "absolute idiot bet his freedom as well as the debt of our company on a gladiator match in Remano. When he came back and told us, Killjoy and myself were going with him, no questions asked. So, we went. The day of the gladiator match, Ja'far and I saw him in and kept his shit. Then we went to watch the match. As you know, Massy is a Fanalis, which means he has always been exceptionally strong. Unfortunately, Umm Madaura, who went by Maader at the time, used that to her advantage and put Captain Moron up against him. Sinbad lost and I lost my mind. I swore I would kill Maader and then I'd kill the slave who took the man who saved my life away from me. Aaaannnddd, that's how we met. It took a while for us to free Sinbad and for Massy and me to start talking. Massy was a hard shell to crack open!" Tora leaned against him, "But! He opened up, I actually left Captain Moron's side for a bit to travel with Massy, then we came back to Sinbad. And eventually we got married."

"That's… um… quite the tale, sweetie," said Diane.

"Ain't that the damn truth!" laughed Tora.

Recovering from the story, Diane pat her daughter's shoulder. "I'm glad that you're happy with him, now. At least there is no bad blood between the two of you now, right?"

Waving it off, Tora scoffed, "Oh fuck no! No bad blood here! I got over that long ago, as soon as Captain Moron was freed."

"Yeah, my jaw still hurts at the memory," said Sinbad, rubbing his left jaw.

Diane looked confused and Tora clarified, "As soon as Sinbad was released, I attacked him with a hug, but then promptly punched him as hard as I could in the jaw. Claiming that was what he got for being a fucking idiot." Diane gasped, understanding now. "Yeah, I always have fun beating up King Moron," said Tora, slipping back into calling Sinbad her other nickname for him. His then-currently proper nickname.

"I'm also just glad you grew up to be strong and help others," said her mother.

"Yeah… honestly, me, too," answered Tora.

* * *

Tettia and Alibaba arrived at the capital city of the Reim Empire, Remano. The moment they arrived in the city, they collapsed in the streets. Their bodies starving and exhausted. The one thing Tettia had forgotten while she let her lover get robbed was the fact that he had all the money. So, the lovers were broke and therefore starving. "We made it, Ali," weakly said Tettia.

"Yeah… now to go do what I came here for… to become a gladiator," exclaimed Alibaba. He quickly recovered from his intense fatigue, after all, there was Tettia's promise to marry him on the line, too. Not that he was not going to complete this training for himself, but getting Tettia to say _yes_ to marrying him was also great encouragement. The coliseum was in the center of the city, and towered over all the other buildings. Tettia sucked in a breath before pushing herself off the ground. She came to stand right beside her blond lover. "You ready, Tet?" the blond asked, looking over at her.

"As long as you're ready, I'm ready, too," she laughed in response. Tettia also reached out and held Alibaba's hand, which caused said blond to smile excitedly at his crimson-haired lover. He was overjoyed at the thought of her finally agreeing to marry him, and it made him want it ten times more. With renewed vigor, they set off towards the coliseum.

* * *

"No," said the armored woman.

Tettia's face scrunched up in confusion as she asked, "Whaddya mean 'no'?"

Alibaba grunted questioningly, "Umm… this is Shambal's Swordsmen Training Grounds, isn't it…? I want to enter, though…"

The red-armored woman answered, "No, you can't. I, Toto, cannot let you two pass. Neither of you have a letter of introduction. And both are suspicious."

The half-Fanalis had also forgotten Alibaba had that damn letter on him as he was getting robbed. Suddenly, she wished she had stopped those thieves. "I-I told you… that Sinbad wrote that letter for us and they stole it…" the blond said almost pouty. He turned to his lover and said, "Urgh… what should we do…"

"I'm not sure, Ali. But, fuck, I'm sorry I let you get robbed now," answered the crimson-haired half-Fanalis.

Alibaba rolled his eyes, playfully, at her, "Yeah, yeah. _Now_ you're sorry. Now that we can't do shit are you sorry."

"Nooo~" Tettia said in a sing-song voice, "I was actually sorry when I told you that on the boat!"

Toto stepped forward, clearing her throat, she got the lovers' attention. She then pointed to Alibaba. "Fight me," she said simply. The lovers looked at her. "If you defeat me, Toto, with your sword, you may take part in the training grounds. That's how it works for those like you two! I will fight the blond first, then I'll fight you, red. Sound like a plan?"

Tettia shrugged, saying, "It doesn't much matter which order you fight us in."

Meanwhile, Alibaba laughed, drawing his sword. "So, this is our first trail huh… I like your style…!" he exclaimed. Toto and Alibaba started to fight and it was soon clear that the blond was so hungry he could not even fight. "Dammit… I'm so hungry that I don't have any strength…!" he called out in disbelief.

"Shit!" exclaimed Tettia, jumping into the fight. Her daggers holding Tori's sword at bay for a moment. "Sorry, but I can't let you beat my lover while he's down," she spoke. However, her strength failed just as Alibaba's had. "Fuck…!"

Toto laughed, "Hahaha… you _both_ are too weak! I cannot let you… enter!" She sent the lovers flying with a single blow.

"D-dammit!" cried Alibaba as they flew through the sky. "Just you wait!" called Tettia. Toto stuck out her tongue and mockingly waved at the duo as they flew through the air.

* * *

They landed, Tettia landing slightly on top of her lover — both of them unconscious. The Nando brothers stumbled across the two lovers. "Oooh… this guy's got a really good sword with him. And the girl's got some nice daggers, too," said the oldest brother.

"But brother, apart from their weapons, they are in really bad condition," said the second oldest brother.

The youngest brother took a good look at the duo and said, "What…? Brother… look, could it be that they are…!?" The three brothers looked at the lovers. "Could it be that these two are…?"

* * *

"Boss… Boss Alibaba…" came a voice.

"And Miss Tettia…" came a second voice.

Both Alibaba and Tettia were stirred from their slumber by the voices. "Eh…?" they questioned as they opened their eyes.

"Ah, they regained consciousness!" exclaimed the youngest brother.

The lovers relayed there, looking at each other, trying to register who these people were. "Who are… you?" asked Alibaba.

Groaning, Tettia sat up, "Wait…? Could you three be…?" Alibaba was quick to jerk his body off the bed when he realized who they were. Tettia placed a hand on his again, trying to calm him down. "It's okay, Ali. Don't jerk up so suddenly."

"That's right, Miss Tettia and Boss! It is I, S Nando!" said the oldest brother. "And L Nando," said the second oldest. "And M Nando," the youngest said with a smile. "Long time no see!" exclaimed S, "This is one of the rooms in our casino!"

"You three own a fucking casino now?!" exclaimed an impressed Tettia. She crossed her arms and nodded at them, saying, "Well then, consider me highly impressed at you three."

S Nando laughed and explained, "Yes… the truth is, we became really rich after we entered Reim's gambling business…"

M Nando laughed as well, saying, "We are called the Three Casino Brothers right now!"

"I'm glad to see that you two are doing so well…!" S exclaimed.

Tettia and Alibaba sat at the edge of the bed. "Honestly, we weren't doing so well before you found us and…" she noticed Alibaba's new clothes, and loved them, "gave Ali new, hotter clothes… and let us steal this bed until we regained consciousness."

"Are you two finally a thing?" M Nando asked.

With a laugh, Tettia nodded, "Yeah! We are!"

M Nando sighed in relief, "Oh, thank goodness! Everyone knew there was something between you both, we were just all waiting for you to come out and confirm it! And then you, Miss Tettia, said you were married to that king."

"Yeah," she said, rubbing her neck, "that was all just a joke. It was to get Ali to admit he had feelings for me. It worked exceptionally well."

"Well, I'm glad you two are happy," M Nando said.

Alibaba spoke, "It seems that we're indebted to you… but, we don't want to cause you anymore trouble…! Right, Tet?"

"Aye! You three did so much for us," she said with a smile.

"I have to get into Shambal's Training Grounds… because I'm that place… there should be the members of the Magoi Manipulation Clan! And then Tet will agree to marry me…" Alibaba went to get up, but fell down.

Tettia followed after him, also collapsing to the ground. She groaned, "Fffffuuuuucccckkkk…!"

"What's happening… Boss!? Miss Tettia!?" exclaimed S Nando.

The half-Fanalis groaned, "Please give us food…"

S Nando nodded running off, "Yes, immediately!"

* * *

The lovers were taken somewhere in the casino they could eat. And by God were they eating. Alibaba and Tettia were scarfing down plate after plate of food. S Nando asked them as they ate, "… So, do you two _really_ want to become gladiators?"

"Yeah," answered Alibaba as he chewed, "is it _that_ surprising?"

"It is! More than half of the gladiators here are slaves, you know!? They are forced to risk their lives fighting for their masters…" S Nando said.

Tettia put her food down for a moment as she answered, "I just wanna become one so I can keep Ali safe! Also, I'm half-Fanalis, half of my bloodline has been captured and used as slaves. So, it wouldn't be too out of place to see a Fanalis as a gladiator."

"You know, Tet," the blond began, putting down his food, "I find it a little insulting that you don't think I can take care of myself!"

Putting a fork-full of food into her mouth, Tettia answered, pointing her now empty fork at him, "Well, hey, if you can prove you don't need me to help you as much, then be my guest! Ever think that it's also because I don't want you to die and leave me that I say that?"

"Yeah, that _did_ cross my mind, but, it's even _**more**_ insulting that you think I would die easily," retorted Alibaba.

Scoffing, Tettia retorted, "Hey, hey, hey! Watch yourself, love! I never said that you'd die easily, I just said that I don't want you to die and fucking leave me alone! If you died, I would be loveless. Sinny already has eyes for Mom now that I'm with you, so I couldn't go back to him. Haku obviously loves Morg, and I'm not gonna fuck that up. And Laddin is like my little brother, that's weird! Anyways, enough spatting between us. Back to the conversation we were sharing with S!"

Alibaba shrugged and answered S Nando, who was looking at the blond and his lover questioning as they bickered, "… I've heard about the _'fighting contests,'_ but… I didn't think they would be so awful…"

"Welp, don't expect anything less from a _'fighting contest'_ , Ali. It even sounds brutal to me! Also, I know how brutal they can be… thanks to Tor telling me," spoke Tettia.

S Nando sighed and said, "Well, more or less… but! This is really a great place for its citizens! They manage the town, the roads, the water supply, and even the safety in the streets. The state guarantees life to its citizens so they never starve. This country is very prosperous! Hahaha…"

"Seems like it, huh, Ali?" asked Tettia.

Alibaba nodded and took a sip of his drink. As soon as S Nando opened his mouth to say something, a man was pushed by the guard. The guard saying that the man was broke and needed to go home. Alibaba and Tettia walked over to the man and helped him up. "Um… are you alright?" asked Alibaba.

"Yes… thank you, boy!" came the man's deep voice. He stood up and Tettia squeaked and covered her face. The man was stark naked. The gray-haired man shook Alibaba's hand as a thanks then went back to his gambling. "In my next hand, I will put my last treasure at stake!" The man then ripped out a golden tooth. He lost.

That was when Toto stepped towards her master and said, "Master, you are broke."

"Just another round! Please, just another one!" the older man said.

"No," said Toto.

"JUST ONE MORE!"

"NO!"

Tettia and Alibaba looked at them, and they noticed Toto. "Wait, is that Toto? From earlier?" asked Tettia.

"Master, remember the reason we came here!" exclaimed Toto, pointing at the two lovers, "It's them!"

The older man rubbed the back of his head, saying, "Ah, that's right, sorry…" he turned to the duo and said, "Helll! I'm Shambal Ramal… my disciple, Toto, was a little rude to you both this morning, wasn't she? I am in charge of the applicants… the two of you want to become gladiators under our patronage, isn't that right…?"

"Y-yes!" exclaimed Alibaba excitedly. Tettia shrugged as she said, " _Actually_ , I just want to get in with Ali so I can be close to him… but, _sure_ , I can become a gladiator. After all, my kind are renounced fighters." The two of them approached Shambal, but Toto's sword was pressed against their throats.

Shambal looked at his disciple, exclaiming, "Stop, Toto!" Smiling, the man and his disciple looked amused. "Sorry, but could you two have a rematch with Toto here? I don't admit children who are weak and lose to Toto in the Training Grounds," said Shambal.

Alibaba and Tettia looked at each other, their eyes conveying silent questions to each other. Questions like were they ready for this rematch. They both decided that they were ready. They would fight her together, after all, she seemed like a woman who could handle a two-versus-one match. "My pleasure," came their answer. The lovers stepped onto the raised platform.

"Please don't destroy our casino, I beg you!" called S Nando.

Toto laughed, "It is useless… you both are weak, you cannot win against me!"

"I bet we can. Our energy has been restored," said Tettia. Alibaba agreed with her. Toto grew angry, calling them both cocky, thought they were not being very cocky. As she lunged at the duo, they each dodged her attack; Alibaba using his royal combat stance, Tettia in her Fanalis combat stance. Shambal was impressed with their stances, saying they were the real deal, or something like that. Toto was surprised that they were not so weak.

Shambal told Toto she could use her ability. While Alibaba was confused, Tettia knew what he meant. "He means her Magoi Manipulation, Ali!"

"Oh!"

* * *

Several minutes pass, Tettia and Alibaba come out victorious when they both cut the straps keeping up Toto's breastplate up. Tettia rolled her eyes and said, "Why would you wear just a breastplate as clothes?"

Shambal walked up to them, saying, "It seems like you two have had a lot of training."

"Aye! We have, sir!" answered Tettia. "Thanks," said Alibaba.

* * *

Alibaba and Tettia were taken to the training grounds. There were former thieves, mercenaries and even soldiers training. Alibaba was then subject to accupuncture. Which had him whining like a baby. Tettia was laughing at him, "Real sexy there, Ali. Manly screaming!"

"You try this!" he shouted at her.

"She does not need it. Tettia does not have a problem with her flow of Magoi, Alibaba. That would be you," said Shambal. "Anyway, you are in a really dangerous situation… we have to treat you immediately, so try to bear with it."

"Dangerous situation?" questioned Tettia and Alibaba in unison.

Nodding, Shambal answered, "Yes… the truth is… in your body… there are two kinds of Magoi."

"Two kinds…?" Alibaba asked.

Tettia hummed, crossing her arms, saying, "And I take it that's a bad thing, aye?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Shambal, explaining why it was a bad thing. After the acupuncture, Shambal told Alibaba that one or two wins in the arena should cover the payment.

Soon, Alibaba found himself in the arena, wondering how he got himself here. From near the balcony, Tettia's loud voice could be heard screaming, "Do your best, Ali!" Alibaba looked up at his lover and was then ready for his opponent. However, when the gate opened, a human was not there. It was a giant ape-like monster. Oh, Tettia's face fell. "Oh… fuck…" she said to herself, "YOU GOT THIS, ALIBABA!"

* * *

Back in Sindria, Tora and Masrur were spending some time with Diane. They had even gone out to eat, Tora was catching her mother up on everything the whole time since Diane arrived. And she was on the last leg of her explanation. "And, so, that's how we came to where we're at now. Tet and I became instant best friends, I adopted Morgiana as my daughter when she was training under us, Babwa was an idiot, and now we have to get Mari and King Moron together. Hopefully I can accomplish that when Tet comes back!"

Diane smiled at her daughter. "Yeah, those two do seem to have feelings for each other, sweetie."

"RIGHT?! We fucking know! I've been trying for YEARS to get Mari to clue herself in to King Moron's feelings towards her!"

* * *

Marina sighed deeply through her nose. Her arms were crossed and she stood in her room with Sarabi. "Are you sure that this is an emergency this time, Sarabi?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so, my queen. There seems to be an armada of unknown origin heading towards our country, we must go back. Atlantis needs their Djinn wielding queen, the last line of protection. I know you understand this," answered Sarabi. "I know how much you don't want to leave, either, Marina. It is fun here, being with our friends who we don't get to visit very often, but you have been neglecting your country for Sindria for a while. The time has come for you to take being queen seriously again."

The golden-haired queen sighed, combing a hand through her hair, "I know, Sarabi. I was meaning to go back and get back to business a while ago, but I was just having so much fun here, with my daughter, that I did not want to leave."

"I understand that, Mari. But now that you know that we need to go back, we should inform King Sinbad about our departure. We need to leave as soon as we can."

"Very well. Let's go tell Pervy we have to leave," said Marina. "Let's not draw this out. I don't want our friends dreading our departure."

Sarabi smiled, "A very mature conclusion. I will go ready the ship."

"You do that," said Marina. Sarabi left the room. Once the door closed, Marina almost cried. "I don't really wanna leave! And Tor's with her mom! Ugh!"

* * *

Alibaba had been smacked around by the giant ape, Garda. In fact, he was dazed. "Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!" chanted the crowd. Tettia looked around at them, wondering what they meant. That was until she saw Garda chomping his teeth into Alibaba's left arm.

"ALIBABA!" she screamed. Tettia's keen eyes saw him slipping out of consciousness. Garda started to squeeze his left arm until it snapped. The snap was audible and it left Tettia cringing at the sound. "NO! ALIBABA! WAKE UP!" she again screamed.

Alibaba woke up at the intense pain that courses from his left arm. Garda dropped him and the announcer said the giant ape intended to eat Alibaba. Tettia saw the change in his honey eyes, and then Alibaba ran towards Garda. The blond made the huge ape smash into a statue holding a spear. Garda grabbed Alibaba by his broken arm and flung him into the wall. "H-help me…" said Alibaba.

"How disgraceful! He's begging for his life!" said a male in the crowd.

Tettia walked over to the man, wading through people, and once she reached him, she grabbed him by his clothes and head-butted him. "You shut the fuck up! You don't know him! I have something to get him going again," she said lowly. Looking back at Alibaba, she cupped her hands around her mouth to project her voice as she called, "Hey, Alibaba! If you win against Garda, I'll agree to marry you!"

Alibaba looked over at Tettia and her eyes caught his smirk. Like he knew she would say that, and he knew he would win. Garda came up to him and went in for the kill, but instead of eating Alibaba, the ape got a mouthful of iron spear. "So, do you like it, monkey… the taste of that iron spear," he said in a cocky tone.

"YOU LITTLE FUCKER!" Tettia yelled happily. The battle continued and Alibaba came out the victor, using techniques that Cassim had used as kids when they played together. Alibaba smiled to himself. As he left the arena, Tettia brushed through the crowd to go see him. Once her lover came into her sight, she attacked him with a hug. "You sly fucker!" she exclaimed, kissing his face with happy kisses. Happy that he was alive. "You have me fucking worried out there, Saluja!"

He smiled at her, wrapping his right arm around her and kissing her forehead. "Yeah, sorry about worrying you, Tettia. But, I believe you said you'd marry me if I won. So, again, I ask you, Tettia… will you marry me?"

"Yes! Alibaba Saluja, I will marry you," she said, kissing him on the lips briefly.

"Look, as touching as this is, we need to bandage up Alibaba's arm," said Toto.

Tettia smiled, "Yeah, please do. That snap hurt me more than it should have."

* * *

Marina and Sarabi were at the docks with their Atlantean ship ready to go. The queen got a bear-hug from Tora, "Be safe, Mari!"

"I will, Tor! Thanks though," answered the queen.

Everyone bid the queen and her advisor farewell, Sinbad pulling his long-time friend and ally into a hug. "Be safe out there, Marina. You're important to me, if you were to die recklessly… I don't know what I would do. I've already lost someone important to me before, I don't want to see it happen again," he whispered to Marina.

Not knowing he was talking about his feelings for her, Marina took it as he cherished their friendship and did not want her to die. "Don't worry, you Perv, this is me we're talking about. There's no way I'm going down with ease," she answered.

"I know," came his answer, "but I don't want to lose you like I lost Serendine."

Marina grew sad at the mention of her name. Sinbad was never the same after that woman died, and for good reason, those two clearly had romantic feelings for each other back in the day. "Sin… she was different than me. She only had Zepar, while I have three Djinn other than Aries."

"It doesn't matter. I still want you to be safe, Marina. Okay?" Sinbad said, looking directly into her eyes. He was serious.

Seekng the seriousness in his gaze, Marina answered, "Okay! Yeah! I will be safe!" She tried to pull herself from Sinbad's grasp, but was unable to. "Uhh… Sinbad… I need to get going now. Can you… can you let me go?"

Sinbad laughed as he released her, "Ah, yes! My apologies! Goodbye Marina, goodbye Sarabi. Please come back any time, you two are important allies to the kingdom of Sindria."

Getting into their ship, Marina and Sarabi waved goodbye one last time before their high-tech ship zoomed off towards their kingdom. "That was weird, Abi-poo," said Marina.

"What do you mean, Mari?" asked Sarabi.

"Sinbad… he was acting weird. Saying things like how he didn't want to lose me how he lost Seren…"

"I haven't heard her name in a long time. Try not to think about it too much, Mari. With Sinbad, its best not to overthink things. I'm sure he meant it as a way of saying you're extremely important to him and why wouldn't you be? You're the queen of the most technologically advanced kingdom on the planet, if he were to lose you and the kingdom be taken over again, Sindria would lose a valuable ally. And Sinbad would once again lose someone he is very close with," explained Sarabi.

Marina sighed, "Then wouldn't he care more if Ja'far or Tor were to die? After all, they've been with him the longest; one is his advisor and the other is a general."

"Well, yes, I am sure King Sinbad would be devastated should Tora and Ja'far die, Marina. Truth be told, I just think he doesn't want to lose anymore of his friends. He was hit hard by the loss of his friend Mystras and Vittel as well as some others. He takes his friendships seriously," spoke Sarabi.

"I do remember how upset he was when he lost Mystras. I heard Tora blew some enemy up with her magic and punched someone to death that's how pissed she was. Everyone liked that kid, and he was pretty cool. Poor Pipirika though, didn't her and Mystras like each other?" said Marina. Sarabi nodded.

* * *

Back in Remano, five days after Alibaba's victory and engagement, he was sitting in his room. Correction, him and Tettia's room, with Garda looming over him. Tettia was polishing her daggers when Toto opened the door. The woman freaked out upon seeing the giant ape. "Why is he here?!" she asked hysterically.

"We took him in," answered Tettia.

Alibaba (who had his left arm in a sling) was also polishing his sword and he said, "The prize money for the match was absurdly high, and I couldn't think of another way to spend all that money."

"B-but… I've never heard of buying a fighting beast then releasing it…" retorted Toto.

Shrugging, Tettia answered, "This is how we do things, sweetheart. Ali and I aren't your ordinary people."

Alibaba smiled, ready to throw around one of the several words he had been waiting to use since he first saw Tettia, "Yeah, my bride has a point. I was also just thinking… if it's _'him'_ , he would've done the same thing." The blond went to pick up a cigar.

"Ali, we both know how this ended last time," warned Tettia. He did not listen and he tried to take a puff of the cigar, which resulted in him coughing. "I told you, Ali! But you didn't listen to me," she said, snatching the cigar from him and puffing on it herself. "This is how it's done, my love."

Shambal came into the room and changed his bandages, asking Alibaba questions to which he answered. After he had so confidently answered Shambal's question, Tettia smiled at him. That was her future husband all right.

 _Wow, I can't believe it. I've only known Alibaba for about two years and here we are, engaged. This will be something fun to explain to Laddin when we met again_ , Tettia thought to herself as she smiled at Alibaba.

* * *

 **A/N: ALRIGHTY LADS AND LASSIES! That's the World Exploration Arc done in one-flew-swoop, hope y'all didn't mind that! (;-;) I felt kinda bad not doing anything with Aladdin or Morgiana or Hakuryuu, but oh well! Next chapter we jump right into the Magnostadt Arc, right when Alibaba and Tettia will reconvene with Laddin for the first time in six months! I'm sorry for all of the skipping, too, I just really want to focus on Tet and Alibaba! And the goings-on in Sindria while everyone's away. Shit's about to get interesting though because I'm getting kinda maybe closer to where the manga currently is! Slowly but surely! Okay, imma go!**


	35. Reunion

**Chapter Thirty-Five: The Reunion of the Three Best Friends**

 **A/N: Okay! We're just gonna jump into this Arc when Alibaba and Tettia show up! Again (;-;) I'm sorry for all the skipping around, I really do feel bad about that. But, anyways, let's get going! Also, this happens roughly a year (I think, not 100% sure) after AliTia get engaged, just for those who haven't read the manga ;3**

* * *

Muu's attack on Aladdin was stopped suddenly; even the young Magi was confused as to why he was not dead. "If the Eight Pointed Star is cut while someone is using the _Djinn Equip_ , his Metal Vessel will be broken. Amon's sword is the sword of melting. That's why even Barbatos' sword will probably be… sliced off," came a very familiar voice to the young Magi.

Running out of Magoi, Muu's Djinn Equip faded away. "I didn't think… I would be stopped by you. I guess you didn't come here to back me up with that kind of appearance, huh? Where is that girl?"

Aladdin looked at the familiar figure. "A-… A-… Alibaba…!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"Aladdin!" smiled Alibaba.

Looking around, the young boy looked for a certain person he had missed more than anybody. "I-if you're here… where's Tet?!"

" **LLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN**!" came a bellowing scream that neared the duo. It was Tettia, sprinting full-force towards her blond lover and her best friend. Seeing her face brought a smile to the young Magi's face. Once she got close enough, Tettia launched herself at her young best friend, tackling him to the ground. "Oh my sweet baby Solomon! Laddin! I-I'm so glad to see you again," cried out the half-Fanalis, nuzzling her cheek against Aladdin's hair.

Aladdin smiled and laughed at Tettia's action. "I'm glad to see you, too, Tet. It's been a while."

The captain of the Reim Empire's Fanalis Corps fell to one knee, suffering from exhaustion due to his now fully depleted Magoi reserve. His sister, Myron, ran to his side. "To think that Alibaba… was a Metal Vessel user…" Muu said in disbelief.

Growing angry that Alibaba had defended Aladdin, and that Tettia was hugging the blue-haired Magician, Myron shouted, "Alibaba… Tettia… do you two realize the _crime_ you have just committed!? You both were simple outsiders, but now you both made the entire Reim Empire into your enemy!"

Tettia stopped hugging on Aladdin and stood up. Her crimson hair casted a shadow over her eyes, Alibaba's hair doing the same thing. Stepping forward, the half-Fanalis came to stand beside her lover. "You're right, Myron… but… it wasn't like we could stay there and do nothing while Laddin was about to be cut in two," she said.

" _This_ is the guy," said Alibaba, "He is the important friend we were searching for… so… we're sorry, everyone…!"

Tettia nodded, crossing her arms over her chest as she said, "And I will _never_ let anybody hurt him. Laddin is like a younger brother to me, I love him like no other… besides you, Ali."

"Alibaba… Tet…" the young magician said.

"T-the captain and Rohroh are out of Magoi…" said a Fanalis. "What should we do now?" asked another Fanalis.

"Everyone, retreat," came a female's soft and commanding voice.

Titus Alexis's blue eyes widened as he spoke, "Why… why are you _here_ …? Lady Scheherazade…!" He was referring to the blonde woman who stood behind the Fanalis Corps. "I thought you were still in Reim…!"

Aladdin looked back at the light blond Magi. "Titus, is that person Miss Scheherazade?" he asked.

"Yes," came Titus's answer.

Tettia looked over her shoulder, her line of sight following Aladdin's gaze. When her eyes landed on the light blond magician, who she could have only assumed had become a friend of her best friend's, she gasped. "Oh, he's a little cutie~" she gushed, "If only I was a few years younger and not in a committed relationship~"

Aladdin laughed and rolled his eyes at his half-Fanalis best friend's words. Turning his big, blue eyes towards Lady Scheherazade, he said, "But… are you really… Miss Scheherazade?"

"What are you talking about, Aladdin?" asked Titus.

Lady Scheherazade held out her staff as she asked, "And who are you? Are you _Mangostadt's Magi_ , Aladdin?"

The young blue-haired Magi shook his head as he answered, "No, you're wrong. But I want you to leave this country alone. Several triggers are hidden in this country… the hate the magicians hold, the Magoi accumulation furnace, the connections to a certain organization, and, if it it true that the chancellor is hiding something, somewhere in this country, then… _terrifying things_ will be called into this world. So, please…"

Scheherazade opened her eyes and looked at Aladdin. Without much hesitation, she said, "Retreat the soldiers for now, Muu…"

"WHY!?" questioned the Fanalis Corps captain.

The blonde Magi spoke, "Aladdin is… probably gazing at the same scene as Yunan. In any case, there is a great number of injured soldiers… we cannot just end things like this, but… have the entire army retreat in the open sea for now. And in the meanwhile… Aladdin, Aladdin's King, Alibaba, Tettia, and Titus… may we have a talk together?" asked the soft-voiced Magi.

"Of course, Lady Scheherazade," answered Tettia.

* * *

The five of them were on a small boat between the Reim Empire's fleet of ships and the shore of Magonstadt. Tettia had nowhere else to sit, so she had to sit in Alibaba's lap. Leaning his head on her shoulder, and his hands in her lap, clasped together, Alibaba said, "I thought you were going to take us to Reim's Fleet, like a trio of hostages."

Lady Scheherazade shook her head as she answered, "This is neutral territory. Apart from the five of us in this small ship, no one is present in this territory halfway from Magnostadt's shore and Reim's Fleet."

Smiling, Aladdin said, "In that case, we can talk calmly till sun-break." He turned his head towards his two best friends and continued, "…Anyway, I was so surprised! To think you two would appear out of the blue!"

Alibaba and Tettia laughed as they both said, "I'm even more surprised! To think that you would fight. Then Muu turned into a silver flash! And it was so super frightening that he, alone, was able to penetrate into your lines to that extent!" It was then that Alibaba suddenly noticed something, "Eh!? Aladdin… could it be that… you grew taller, right!?" Then he and Tettia stood up, causing the boat to rock a bit. "The last time we saw you, you were short like this…" said Alibaba, comparing his young best friend's height from then and now, "How do I say it…"

Tettia gushed, "You seem a lot sharper and calm now, Laddin! My best friend is growing up to be such a fine young man~!"

Smiling, Aladdin reveled in them noticing his changes, "A lot of things change in one year, you know!"

"Oh yeah, don't I know that…" laughed Tettia, seemingly keeping something from her best friend.

"And you, Alibaba…" he asked. Alibaba did something pretty goofy, just like himself, and that caused Aladdin to laugh as he continued, "…you didn't change at all! Neither did you, Tet~!"

Alibaba seemed to be shot through his ego. "EEEEEH!? I changed, you know! Look, I have more dignity! I look like a real gentleman now! I'm more stylish! _I even got a_ _ **fiancée**_ _now_!" retorted the blond, flailing his arms in the air.

Almost immediately at the word _fiancée_ passing his blond best friend's lips, Aladdin stopped laughing and looked at Tettia. "Wait… wait, what!?" he exclaimed, flailing his arms in the air like Alibaba. "Did I hear him right, Tet!?"

Blushing, Tettia covered her face with her hands. "Y-yeah… you heard him right, Laddin," she muttered.

" ** _WHEN_**!?" asked the young Magi. He was now curious as to when this happened, and how exactly the blond asked the redhead. Aladdin knew how much Alibaba did want to ask Tettia to marry him. In fact, when they were alone without Tettia, the blond would always ask the young Magi how he should do it.

Peaking through her fingers, Tettia answered, "About a year ago… actually. When we all went our separate ways, and we went to Remano."

Aladdin's blue eyes darted from his half-Fanalis best friend to his blond best friend. He was confused. "How did it happen? What happened? I want to know, **now**!"

Titus looked like he was about to die. "Aladdin, leave them alone. Lady Scheherazade went through a lot of trouble so we could have a place where we could talk… c-come on now, otherwise Lady Scheherazade will get mad…" he said, looking over at the soft-spoken Magi. However, instead of looking mad, Scheherazade was smiling at the trio.

"Well, it started when Alibaba got drunk, and subsequently robbed, and drunkenly asked me numerous times if I'd marry him. I didn't take him seriously, so I dodged the question by telling him to go the fuck to bed. He remembered when he sobered up the next morning and then asked me again, I told him I would probably not agree until we got to the Reim Empire's captial and he finished his training. So, excited as hell, we made our way to Remano, whereupon we had to fight this girl named Toto to gain acceptance into the gladiators, since our letter from Sinny had been stolen when Ali was robbed. Ali also needed acupuncture so Shambal, the leader of the gladiators, could see what was up with his Rukh's flow. When the old man was done, he said Ali had to win in an arena match once or twice and it would take care of his payment. So, Alibaba had no choice and found himself in the coliseum, fighting against a giant ape named Garda. He was losing against Garda was about on death's door when I screamed at him that if he won against the giant ape, I'd marry him. Well, he won literally right after I screamed that; he asked me after I found him after the match and I finally said _'yes'_. So, yeah, now we're engaged," she explained. "Yay for me, I snagged the dorkiest dork out there," added the redhead, looking over at Alibaba with a loving smile.

The smile of his fiancée was so full of love, Alibaba's heart almost skipped a beat. "And I snagged the most _beautiful_ beauty out there," he exclaimed lovingly (and excitedly). Momentarily forgetting they were all in a boat, the blond picked up Tettia by her waist and spun her around — which not only caused the boat to almost capsize but also resulted in Tettia squeaking loudly, reminding him they were on a boat. Alibaba then promptly put her down and rubbed the back of his neck, apologizing, "I'm sorry everyone… I kinda forgot we were in a boat."

Aladdin looked at his two best friends with wide eyes, overjoyed with the knowledge that his two best friends were engaged. "Wow! I'm happy for you two! I really am! It's about time, though! I knew you two would!" he exclaimed. Scheherazade was giggling and laughing as the trio as they continued to interact.

* * *

"… So Tet and I were acquainted with Muu and his group in the Coliseum," Alibaba finished explaining.

Aladdin nodded, "I see~ Eh? But didn't you two meet Miss Scheherazade when you were in Reim?"

"Oh, that!" laughed Tettia, "We decided to not meet her!"

Alibaba smiled and said, "Yeah, because, you know, she would find me out, right? She would have immediately noticed that I had a Metal Vessel… just like Judar did… she would have sensed it and immediately understood who I was, right? She is a Magi, after all."

"Yeah! She woulda sensed that I have a Household Vessel, too," added Tettia.

"…No…" sighed Scheherazade, "even if we would have met, I would not have realized it…"

That confused Tettia and her fiancé. They tilted their heads in confusion as they asked, "What do you mean… Lady Scheherazade?"

"I knew it. You… are a little different from a Magi, right…?" spoke Aladdin.

Titus seemed appalled, "What the hell are you talking about? Aladdin, that's rude!"

"That's right," came Scheherazade's voice, "I'm just like Titus… I'm nothing more than one of _Scheherazade's_ clones."

The blond male beside her widened his eyes. "What… what does that mean, Lady Scheherazade…?" the cloned asked in disbelief.

"I am a clone, physically… but my consciousness is that of the _Magi_ Scheherazade herself," spoke the clone, "My real body is resting in Reim, in a place where no one can find it… that body is not even able to take a single step… because it is too old…"

"…Old, you say…" Tettia, Alibaba and Aladdin asked in unison. "How old are you, really?" they all asked.

Giggling, she answered, "I am two-hundred and sixty-eight years old."

"TWO- TWO HUNDRED YEARS OLD?!" asked the best friend trio exclaimed in utter disbelief.

The clone laughed, "Fu fu fu… Did I surprise you?" The trio nodded. "You are really easy to surprise," she smiled at the trio, "Even if I look like this, I'm really just a granny. Now it is my turn to ask you something… please, tell me. What is Matal Mogamett hiding…? What does he intend to do with _Magnostadt_ …?" She asked Aladdin that question, and the young blue-haired Magi stayed quiet. "Tell us, Aladdin. What are you afraid of?"

Everyone looked at Aladdin as they waited for him to answer. Clenching at his robe, Aladdin said, "What scares me… is that maybe… the chancellor might realize Al-Thamen's wish."

Alibaba angrily stood up, shouting, "AL-THAMEN!"

"Right now, Magnostadt is not related to Al-Thamen. But considering the great quantity of Magoi in this country and the extend of hate the magicians have, if the chancellor is hiding a great quantity of Black Rukh somewhere… maybe that scene of tragedy that Al-Thamen wishes for will appear once again," said Aladdin.

The half-Fanalis looked at her best friend and asked, "Scene of tragedy?"

Scheherazade's eyes hardened as she asked, "How do you know about that _scene of tragedy_? Where did you learn of it?"

" _Alma Torran_ ," answered Aladdin, "It's a story from another world whose history doesn't have any connection to ours."

The lovers looked at their best friend curiously. "Another world? What the hell is that?"

Aladdin smiled at them, continuing, "A lot of people were living in that world, just like ours, but… everything there was put to an end because of a single war. Furthermore, those who caused that war… call themselves… _Al-Thamen_. That war ended before everything in Alma Torran perished, thanks to the power of a great magician called _King Solomon_ … and then, most of the few survivors were guided to a new world that _King Solomon_ created himself. And that's… the world where we are… right now… but there were certain people who did not approve of the migration. Al-Thamen wants to erase this new world that King Solomon created, and they are thinking about turning it into a world of chaos. And the power they need to realize such a thing is… _The Dark Spot_. A hole in this world created by a great quantity of Magoi and Black Rukh from that hole. The incarnation of evil that will eat the White Rukh of this world will appear…"

"Oh fuck, that's fucking terrible," said Tettia. Alibaba looked at his best friend, stumbling over his words, "A-Aladdin… I don't get what you're saying…"

The blue-haired Magi cast his blue eyes downwards, saying, "Y-yeah, I know. But Alma Torran's history was shown to me through _Solomon's Wisdom_ … from that day in Balbadd."

"Is this the first time you talked about this?" asked Scheherazade's clone.

Aladdin looked at her and nodded, answering, "Y-yeah. I never told anyone. But I always thought I had to do something. But that was the story of a totally separate world that was shown only to me. I always saw it in my dreams. I didn't want to worry the others more than they already were!"

"That's…" started Scheherazade.

Tettia leaned on the young Magi, hugging him. "Laddin… you coulda told me!"

"I didn't want to worry you, Tet," he answered.

"YOU WOULDN'T'VE!" whined the half-Fanalis.

Humming, Scheherazade said, "And? If what you said is true… what do you want us to…"

"Hey…" started Alibaba, stalking towards his lover and best friend, "Aladdin… you keep saying things that don't make any sense…"

Aladdin sighed, "Eh?" Then he looked down, "Y-yes, sorry, I said weird things all of the sudden…"

"THAT'S NOT IT!" exclaimed Alibaba, taking ahold of his young best friend's shoulders, "You should have told me about those things a long time ago. You've been thinking about that since forever. You were the one who said that I _'don't have to worry about these things alone, but let's think of a solution together'_ , right…!?"

"Y-yes… you're right, but…" said the blue-haired Magi.

Tettia looked at her fiancé and touched his arm, "Ali… calm down, it's in the past."

Alibaba continued, "That time… in Balbadd!" The blond smacked the Magi in the head, continuing, "It doesn't matter, you idiot! It doesn't matter if it's so complicated, or if it's so dangerous, or if it's something that has to do with just you! You don't have to worry about it alone!" The young blue-haired Magi held his head. "I will—" " _ **WE**_ will!" interrupted Tettia. Alibaba looked at his fiancée and continued, still passionate about his words, " _ **WE**_ _will_ worry and think of a solution together with you! Just like you two did for me countless times before… alright, Aladdin!?"

The young Magi held his head and pouted like he was about to cry. That was when Alibaba held out a hand for Aladdin to take hold of. With only a slight moment of hesitation, the blue-haired Magi took the blond's hand and said in a small voice, "Yeah… thank you, Alibaba! You too, Tet!"

Unable to resist, Tettia hugged her young best friend again, gushing, "You're more than welcome, Laddin! Everyone needs a little pick-me-up every once and a while, ya know!"

Once that was done, the five of them flew over to one of the Reim Empire's ships. "Aladdin…" began Scheherazade, "now I know what I needed to know. You wanted to stop this war in order to prevent the worst possible scenario… give me a little time to talk with the others on this ship, please. It's alright… nothing bad will happen. Wait for a reply by Lord Mogamett's side…"

Nodding, he answered, "Yes… but could you give us a little more time?" Turning his head towards the blond clone of Scheherazade, continuing, "Titus, we still have to talk about what you will do from now on."

Scheherazade looked at the young Magi and said, "Would you leave Titus and me alone for a while?"

Aladdin nodded and left the two clones alone, he walked back over to his two other friends and stood beside them. "Laddin, who is that guy?" asked Tettia.

"He is a friend I made in Magnostadt. I can relate to how he feels… as if it were own…" he said, looking at the two clones.

* * *

With Scheherazade and Titus, the female clone said, "…It's fine. You may go with them."

Titus seemed shocked by her statement. "Eh!? L-lady Scheherazade… why…?" he asked.

"When I saw those two… I felt that…" began Scheherazade, "King Alibaba somewhat resembles the first person I chose. He was a general of Reim… and yet, he wasn't that strong. He was unreliable, but he was cheerful and really kind to anyone… he was just like the sun." She sighed, "But this is a story from 200 years ago."

"Lady Scheherazade…" muttered Titus.

She continued, "I continued to be Reim's Magi even after my friends' death because… they established a great vessel, a country, that continued to exist. And I was sure the culture and morals we brought up would be useful to the people in future generations. Those are my true feelings. However… however the most important thing is… I came to love… the Reim Empire… I fell into a delusion while I was watching over it. It was like I thought of it as my own child… and in order to continue to support _'my child'_ , I averted my eyes from the rest of the world… and from the slaves and gladiators who were suffering in this juncture of Reim's history… up until now, I persuaded myself that such a thing was inevitable countless times…" she looked at Titus, "Even you… I pushed on you the fact that my own children should think about things… the same as I do." Scheherazade pouted, "It's silly… to think of you as my son… even if I never gave birth to you, and I don't know the right way how to do that…" she bowed her head to the young man, apologizing, "I'm really sorry, Titus."

Titus was shocked. "That's not…" he began, "I was the one who betrayed you… in that long period I spent in the darkness, the only light… was your voice… you taught me so many things. You were like a mother to me… and yet…"

"I see…" said Scheherazade, "I see…" she was clenching her staff tightly, "I'm really sorry, Titus… I would like for you to keep on living, but…"

"L-lady Scheherazade! In the academy, they told me that if we gather the best knowledge about magic, it is possible to prolong the life of this body!" exclaimed Titus.

She laughed mirthlessly, "The body, huh… but… that's not it. We don't have… much lifespan left…"

Tilting his head in confusion, Titus asked, "…? What… do you mean…?"

"Scheherazade's real body is at its limit… at best it will die in a month… at worst in just a few days… and once it dies, we will return to the Rukh, and our ego will vanish without a trace…"

"…That can't be…" Titus said in disbelief.

"That's why, Titus, I want you to spend your last moments with the people dear to you. They are in Magnostadt, yes? At least that little girl is alright now… Reim's arm will retreat."

* * *

Tettia, Alibaba and Aladdin looked on. "What's going on? What are they saying?" the lovers asked.

"I'm not sure," answered Aladdin.

That was when Scheherazade looked over at the trio and beckoned to them, "Come, Aladdin, Alibaba, Tettia. I want you to know." The trio looked at each other before walking over to the two Magi clones. "Reim's army will wait until daybreak and then retreat. I will officially notify Magnostadt about this. In other words, the war has already ended… it has to end…"

"The war… has to end…" echoed Aladdin, looking at the blonde clone.

A soldier came running, exclaiming rather loudly, "Lady– Lady Scheherazade! A messenger just arrived…" At the news, everyone looked at the soldier, utterly puzzled by his announcement. Taking a minute to assess the situation, the soldier continued, "S-sorry to interrupt you, Lady Scheherazade! However, the Kou Empire has begun to move! The reports say that the Stationing Troops of the Northern Plateau, a great army composed of more than two-hundred-thousand warriors, has begun the invasion and is now heading toward Magnostadt…!"

"Seriously? They… they're gonna do this _now_?!" Tettia questioned, sputtering comically, "Okay. Okay. _OKAY_! Yep! They're doing this right now! Course they would! They have nothing better to be doing, aye?"

Titus looked at the ground and bit his lip before he looked Aladdin in the eyes and said, "Listen Aladdin. I'm going to…"

"Aladdin, Titus only has a few days left to live. Right now, he is trying to fully accept this truth. That's the reason why, at the very least, I want him to spend his last moments in peace. Together with that girl called Marga," spoke Scheherazade.

The Magi's male clone looked at the ground, almost like he was upset, as he said, "Sorry… Aladdin… I… would like to go together with you to fight the threat sleeping in Magnostadt… and… fight against the Kou Empire together with the magicians and the people of Magnostadt… or even… to stay together with Lady Scheherazade and fight in order to protect Reim's fleet… I think I have to make a choice, but… I can't decide, so I want more time to think about what I should do with what's left of my life…"

The young blue-haired Magi's blue orbs cast an understand gaze at his friend. "Okay. I understand. Titus," he said, stepping forwards, towards Titus.

Looking down at the ground, Titus continues, "Um, but if I… decide to use my staff in order to help you, then…"

The blond Magi clone was stopped by Aladdin taking hold of his hands. "We'll wait for you, when that time comes," Aladdin said simply and with a smile.

"Thanks, Aladdin," answered Titus, with a small smile of his own.

Something rumbled in the distance. Tettia squinted her eyes to look in the direction of the rumbling and saw Black Rukh fluttering about. She gasped and her eyes went wide, "Laddin, that's…!"

Looking in the distance with disappointment in his blue eyes, Aladdin answered, "The chancellor… did it after all…!"

The massive amounts of Black Rukh from the distant coagulated into several Black Djinn. Tettia placed a hand on her hip and scoffed in disgust, "Are you _fucking_ kidding me?! We have to deal with that bullshit… _**again**_?! Seriously?! Welp then, isn't today just a lovely fuckin' day!?" She turned to look at Aladdin and continued, "Care to explain why those fuckfaces are back, Laddin? What did Mogamett do?"

* * *

The trio were speeding towards the three Black Djinn, serious expressions on all of their faces — none of them wanting to deal with the Balbadd issue for a second time. "Aladdin…" began Alibaba, "what's wrong with this country!? Even in Magnostadt… things like the birth of _Black Djinns_ happened…? Just like what happened with Cassim… a-are the weak people of this country forced to think of themselves as trash by the mere fact that they are born…?"

Looking over his shoulder at his two best friends, Aladdin nodded, saying, "Yeah!"

"That's fucked up! I'm gonna make these bastards pay for this! How can you do this with a clear conscious!? That's gross and just plain wrong! I just…" Tettia trailed off and groaned/growled in just intense anger, " _WHAT THE FUCK_!?" She had a very tight grip on her father's dagger, to the point that her knuckles were turning white, growling out a low, dangerous, "I can't forgive them!"

Alibaba touched his fiancée's shoulder and smiled gently at her. Even though it was hard to summon a smile, but he did so in order to try and calm down the raging beast that was his fiancée. "I can't forgive them, either, Tet; also, don't be too angry, we will deal with this the same way we did in Balbadd," he said.

That caused Tettia to laugh and loosen her grip on her dagger, "You mean me throwing you at Black Djinns, and having Amon's Sword break again?"

Rolling his eyes, Alibaba leaned over and kissed her forehead, "No, we'll do it better than that, but still, you get the point."

"Yeah, I get to throw you at things again. And now you're my fiancé, which means I will have all the more fun throwing your dumb _ass_ around," retorted Tettia, laughing and winking at her blond lover.

Aladdin looked over his shoulder and, with a smile, rolled his eyes as he said, "Come on, Tet. Can you be serious for a moment? This is serious! And we're getting closer to the Black Djinns."

Waving a hand dismissively in the air, Tettia said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know. HOWEVER, if we were serious all the time, we would be all stiff and shit; I do it to keep us loosened up and not so…" she trailed off, "… _bleh_ … y'know?"

"Yeah, we know," came Alibaba's answer.

"I can break your arm again, smart-ass," quipped Tettia.

"But you won't because you don't want to cause any harm to Alibaba, Tet. Don't lie to yourself," came Aladdin's voice.

Tettia rolled her eyes as they neared the three Black Djinns; however, as soon as they neared them, they shot off, seemingly running off. "Holy shit…" she breathed out, her eyes following them, "they're so fucking fast…"

"What!?" exclaimed Alibaba, "They're running away! Why are they not heading toward Reim's Army!?"

Aladdin thought for a moment and then gasped, "Their objective is not Reim's army… Kouha!"

The half-Fanalis looked over at her best friend with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she asked, " _Kouha_? Who's that?"

"A Kou Empire prince who I met when we went our separate ways," answered Aladdin.

"Look at you! Making connections!" exclaimed Tettia, pulling Aladdin into a side hug. "Anyways! Enough goofing around! We have to go help the Kou Empire's army! I don't want anyone dying because of those things!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Aladdin, the trio then sped off to help.

* * *

The trio got there just in time, the Black Djinns had transformed into a different form and were about to crush Kouha and his army. Just as Kouha thought they were royally screwed, something cut off the Black Djinns' legs. It was Alibaba and he had finally completed his Djinn Equip, which literally had Tettia always drooling because of the new power he had (it had always been attractive to her). "Let's go Amon… let's chop down those Black Djinns!" he exclaimed.

"You got this, Ali!" screamed Tettia from the ground.

Kouha looked down at her, and so did his army. She had appeared out of nowhere. "W-who're you!?" members of Kouha's army asked the half-Fanalis.

"Oh? Me? Hey, I'm Tettia and I am also Aladdin's best friend and older sister-figure. Now which one of you is Kouha?" she asked. Everyone pointed to the light-purple-haired young man floating in the air. Tettia waved at him, calling out, "Hello, Prince Kouha! Nice to meet ya and it's good to know you also wield a Metal Vessel! Hopefully we can become friends just like you became friends with Laddin!"

Kouha did not know who to look at: the blond man with the Djinn Equip or the redhead who was talking all friendly-like with him. "Ummm… what the fuck is going on?" he asked, kind of confused.

"Oh, don't worry, Ali and I are here to help you guys," came Tettia's answer, "Well… I can't really help much because I don't have a Metal Vessel, I only have a Household Vessel, but, I'll help in any way I can."

* * *

Tora had a feeling something was happening with her best friend, but she pushed those thoughts out of her head. At that moment, her and Masrur were having another date night — catching up on all the romantic dates they could not go on while they were training Morgiana. "What do you wanna do after dinner, Massy? Besides fucking me, of course," she laughed to herself.

The male Fanalis silently looked up at his wife and shrugged. He truly did not care what they did, he just loved time with his loud wife — who he somehow came to love despite disliking loud people. "You know I don't care, Tora, I just enjoy the time we spend together," came his answer.

The fork in Tora's hand almost dropped, but she kept a grip on it. "My fucking Solomon! I forget how fucking sappy you can get you fucking dork," she laughed, covering her face a bit to hide the blush that was raising.

"Only for you, Tora," answered Masrur, eating some fish. That almost killed the purplenette. Her husband was so just… sappy and romantic that it was ridiculous.


End file.
